Monitoring & Documentation

While civil society in Saudi Arabia has largely been silenced, and individuals communicating with the outside world are at high risk of reprisals, we maintain an extensive network of sources that enables us to closely monitor human rights violations on the ground and bring them to the attention of the international community.

Monitoring & Documentation Saudi activist seeking asylum in Bulgaria at risk of deportation
Saudi activist Abdulrahman al-Khalidi is under an order of deportation from Bulgaria to Saudi Arabia, where he would be at substantial risk of arbitrary detention and other grave rights violations.
2024-02-19
Monitoring & Documentation Fans arrested, board dissolved at Saudi football club after chanting at match
At least 10 football fans have been arrested and their club’s board of directors dissolved in a hardline response by the Saudi authorities to chanting at a recent match that they deemed to be “sectarian”.
2024-02-09
Monitoring & Documentation Widening gap between official narrative and harsh reality of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, ALQST report finds
ALQST’s Annual Report for 2023 highlights the increasingly stark contrast between the glittering vanity projects of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and repression of the Saudi people.
2024-01-31
Monitoring & Documentation Feminist detainee exposed to vicious abuse in Saudi jail
ALQST is gravely concerned to learn that detained feminist and fitness trainer Manahel al-Otaibi has been wilfully exposed to physical and psychological abuse in Riyadh’s Malaz Prison
2023-09-29
Monitoring & Documentation Elon Musk’s X must ensure safety of users, as Saudi authorities issue first death sentence solely for social media activity
Saudi Arabia’s sentencing to death of 54-year-old retired teacher Mohammed al-Ghamdi solely for peaceful social media activity marks an extraordinary new escalation in the relentless repression of free speech.
2023-09-15
Monitoring & Documentation American mother trapped in Saudi Arabia for four years is home, but without her daughter and still facing criminal charges
U.S. citizen Carly Morris has returned to the United States after a four-year ordeal in Saudi Arabia but her nine-year-old daughter has had to remain there.
2023-08-31
Monitoring & Documentation “Where are they?” Enforced disappearance still a routine practice in Saudi Arabia
The internationally outlawed practice of enforced disappearance remains systematic and widespread in Saudi Arabia, and is extensively applied by the Saudi authorities to prisoners of conscience.
2023-08-30
Monitoring & Documentation Sisters’ indictment for feminist views and choice of clothing shows limits of Saudi women’s rights reforms
The indictment of Saudi sisters Manahel and Fouz al-Otaibi over their choice of clothing and support for women’s rights stands in stark contrast to the authorities’ talk of reform and empowerment for women.
2023-08-10
Monitoring & Documentation Saudi Arabia: Government Retaliates Against U.S. Citizen’s Lawsuit by Detaining and Prosecuting Five Family Members in Terrorism Court
Saudi authorities have detained five family members of 15-year-old U.S. citizen Rakan Nader Aldossari and are prosecuting them in the country’s terrorism court
2023-07-26
Monitoring & Documentation Saudi Public Investment Fund is ultimately controlled by King Salman, its governor reveals
Decisions made by the Board of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund can be overruled by the king if they conflict with the opinions of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to PIF governor.
2023-07-20
Monitoring & Documentation Update on imprisoned activist and mother-of-two Salma al-Shehab
ALQST is concerned to learn that the husband of women’s rights activist Salma al-Shehab, currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for her peaceful activity on Twitter, has unexpectedly filed for divorce.
2023-05-31
Monitoring & Documentation Nine facing execution in Saudi Arabia for acts committed as minors, despite official claims to have ended this illegal practice
At least nine young men are at risk of execution in Saudi Arabia for crimes they allegedly committed as minors, in direct contradiction of official claims to have ended this violation.
2023-05-12
Monitoring & Documentation “Jailed for a tweet”: State TV warns Saudi viewers to study the law before posting on social media
The Saudi state broadcaster has brazenly laid bare the authorities’ determination to suppress free speech online, by interviewing a man jailed for a single tweet.
2023-04-13
Monitoring & Documentation Eight Saudi women launch hunger strike against detention
ALQST has learned that women’s rights activist Salma al-Shehab and seven other detained Saudi women have been on hunger strike since 23 March 2023 in protest against their unjust detention and trial.
2023-03-30
Monitoring & Documentation Saudi crackdown on free speech turns farcical, with Salma al-Shehab resentenced yet again and other women jailed for up to 40 years
In a farcical turn of events in Saudi Arabia’s Specialised Criminal Court (SCC), women’s rights activist Salma al-Shehab was resentenced on 25 January 2023 to 27 years in prison.
2023-03-09
Monitoring & Documentation Neom: ALQST report reveals the full extent of ongoing violations against residents who resisted eviction
The Saudi authorities are still pursuing a vicious campaign of prosecutions against members of the Huwaitat tribe who objected to their forcible eviction in 2020 for construction of a futuristic megacity, Neom.
2023-02-16