Saudi Arabia: Release Activist Jailed For 34 Yrs For Tweets

Amnesty International has documented 30 cases of Saudi Arabian activists and human rights defenders who were prosecuted and sentenced to prison terms to be followed by arbitrary travel bans; as well as 39 unofficial travel bans which have affected relatives of activists. Travel bans have significant consequences on the lives of impacted individuals, causing them to lose educational or professional opportunities abroad, restricting their ability to seek healthcare outside the Kingdom, affecting their mental health and forcibly separating family members for years.

Targeting activists and human rights defenders has created a climate of fear and repression with a chilling effect on Saudi activists living abroad or exiled, as they avoid returning to their own country in fear of reprisals, including being placed on arbitrary travel bans that would lock them in the Kingdom and prevent them from travelling back to their countries of residence. Many activists have also expressed fear of seeing members of their family that have remained in the country being targeted in retaliation for their activism abroad.

Amnesty International has also documented a pattern of repression targeting the Shi’a community in Saudi Arabia, namely through the Specialized Criminal Court that has issued harsh prison and death sentences following grossly unfair trials, marred by allegations of torture and other ill-treatment during detention which the prosecution has systematically failed to investigate.