Saudi Arabia sentences more human rights activists to jail as crackdown widens

A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced six more activists to up to seven years in prison as a crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman widens despite the kingdom’s much-touted social reforms.

The Prisoners of Conscience, an independent non-governmental organization advocating human rights in Saudi Arabia, announced in a post on its official Twitter page that the so-called Specialized Criminal Court in the capital Riyadh passed the verdicts against the pro-democracy male activists, mainly writers, academics and journalists, earlier this week.

🔴 BREAKING 2 (continued)
The so-called Saudi Specialized Criminal Court issues prison sentences against some of the September-2017's detainees as follows:
3- Sheikh Ahmad al-Swayyan 3 years
4- writer Abdullah al-Malki 7 years pic.twitter.com/ZdXLokTrkd

— Prisoners of Conscience (@m3takl_en) September 3, 2020

They were arbitrarily detained under a campaign launched in November 2017. Critics called the measure a shakedown and power play by Prince Mohammed.

The post noted that Abdullah al-Malki, a writer who defended members of the civil rights group Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), was tried under a counter-terrorism law and sentenced to seven years.

While Dr. Ibrahim al-Harthi and Dr. Yousef al-Qassem were sentenced to five years under charges of freedom of speech, Dr. Khaled al-Ajeemy and Dr. Ahmad al-Swayan received 44 months and three years respectively in jail under the same charges.

Also, Dr. Fahd al-Saneedy was sentenced to three years and 6 months in prison on charges relating to freedom of speech, after he was found to have defended pro-democracy uprisings in the Arab world and to have posted “inciting tweets”.

🔴 BREAKING 3 (continued)
The so-called Saudi Specialized Criminal Court issues prison sentences against some of the September-2017's detainees as follows:
5- Dr. Ibrahim al-Harthi 5 years
6- Dr. Yousef al-Qassem 5 years pic.twitter.com/sU5ENRtJOh

— Prisoners of Conscience (@m3takl_en) September 3, 2020

Late last month, the London-based group ALQST, which is an independent non-governmental organization advocating human rights in Saudi Arabia, announced that Saudi authorities had arrested a writer, a journalist and an activist after they expressed great sympathy over the death of distinguished activist Abdullah al-Hamid.

Hamid was imprisoned several times for calling for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Saudi Arabia. He died in custody on April 23, after suffering a stroke and going into a coma.

Ever since bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader in 2017, the kingdom has arrested dozens of activists, bloggers, intellectuals and others perceived as political opponents, showing almost zero tolerance for dissent even in the face of international condemnations of the crackdown.

Jailed female Saudi activist’s health extremely worsening: Family

Female Saudi activist’s health condition is reportedly “extremely” deteriorating in prison since she started a hunger strike to protest not being able to take family visits.

Muslim scholars have been executed, women’s rights campaigners – including Loujain al-Hathloul – have been put behind bars and tortured, and freedom of expression, association and belief continue to be denied.

Bin Salman also stands accused of being directly involved in the cruel murder of well-known Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, after he entered the premises to obtain paperwork for a planned marriage with his Turkish fiancée Hatice Cengiz.

Turkish officials say his body was dismembered by the Saudi killers and his remains are yet to be found.

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