On October 12, 2019, which marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA), the undersigned organisations call on Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all detained ACPRA members. Created in 2009 by 11 human rights defenders and academics, ACPRA was established to promote and protect[…]
13
Mar
Mar
**Update 13 March 2019 – A tweet from Loujain Al-Hathloul’s brother has indicated that her case has been transferred from the Specialized Criminal Court to the Criminal Court for trial. Members of the Free Saudi Women Coalition – including Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) – have been advocating for the immediate[…]
30
Oct
Oct
**Updated 30 October 2018 – Reports are saying that Israa al-Ghomgham was not brought to court for her second hearing on 28 October in front of the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC). The hearing has been adjourned until 21 November 2018 and she remains held in the Dammam General Intelligence Prison. On 21 August, the public prosecutor[…]
24
Jul
Jul
From 30 April to 4 May 2017, Ben Emmerson, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on promoting and protecting human rights while countering terrorism, undertook an official country visit to Saudi Arabia. Upon the conclusion of his visit, he criticized Saudi Arabia’s counter-terror framework as overly restrictive and vague – a mechanism that allows authorities[…]
06
Jul
Jul
Four years ago, on 6 July 2014, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced human rights lawyer and activist Waleed Abu al-Khair to 15 years in prison, a 15-year travel ban, and a fine of 200,000 Saudi riyals (approximately USD 53,000). He was sentenced on spurious terrorism charges stemming from his free expression and association, human rights[…]
