Saudi authorities have released prominent Saudi blogger Raif Badawi after his ten-year prison sentence ended. He was sentenced following an unfair trial and as punishment for exercising his right to freedom of expression. However, he remains today banned from travelling for another ten years.
Alkarama has learned that Saudi authorities have arbitrarily sentenced reformist preacher Khaled Al-Rashed to an additional eight-year imprisonment. The heavy additional sentence comes 17 months after he completed his initial 15-year prison sentence
On 13 January 2022, Alkarama addressed the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to ask him to urgently intervene with the Saudi authorities to urge them not to extradite to China, Mr. Waili AIMOUDOULA and Mr.
On 09 November 2021, Alkarama addressed the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding the situation of Saud Al Hashimi who has been arbitrarily detained since his arrest by the intelligence services (Mahabith) on 02 February 2007.
Alkarama expresses its shock at the death of Saudi academic Musa Al-Qarni while in detention due to his deteriorating health, after nearly 15 years of detention, despite the publication of a UN resolution confirming the arbitrary nature of his detention along with eight other personalities, including political activist Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashemi, on whose behalf Alkarama wrote to the UN special procedures.
On September 6, 2021, Alkarama seized the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur against Torture regarding the situation of Mohammed AL QAHTANI, human rights defender and founding member of the Saudi Association of civil and political rights (ACPRA), sentenced on March 9, 2013 to ten years in prison and arbitrarily placed in detention in Al Hai'ir prison (Riyadh) in a section reserved for detainees suffering from psychological disorders.
Saudi human rights sources have reported that human rights defender Issa Al-Nukhaifi went on hunger strike while in detention in Al-Ha'ir prison in Riyadh, without giving details of the reason. However, according to reliable reports, the Saudi authorities have recently increased their repressive measures against prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders.
As part of its ongoing repressive policies against peaceful activists, the Saudi authorities have increased the prison sentence against detained activist Muhammad Abdullah Al-Otaibi, adding three years to his main sentence (for travelling to Qatar in 2017).
On 14 July 2021, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding the current situation of Mr. Suleiman bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Duwaish, who was arrested on 22 April 2016 by the personal guard of Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salmane for a series of critical tweets and has been held in incommunicado detention since then.
