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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Monitoring & Documentation Saudi Crown Prince takes clampdown on dissent to a new level after making his comeback on the world stage – ALQST’s 2022 Annual Report
The rehabilitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman was swiftly followed by a string of staggeringly harsh jail sentences for peaceful social media activism.
Monitoring & Documentation Death sentences upheld for three men who resisted Neom project
On 23 January, Saudi Arabia’s Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal upheld death sentences against three members of the Huwaitat tribe, Shadli, Ibrahim and Ataullah al-Huwaiti.
Monitoring & Documentation Drugs-related executions make sudden comeback in Saudi Arabia despite claims of a moratorium
Executions for drugs-related offences have made a dramatic comeback in Saudi Arabia this month, despite the announcement in January 2021 of a moratorium on use of the death penalty for such non-violent crimes.
Monitoring & Documentation Concern for fate of human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani, forcibly disappeared
Concern is growing for the fate and wellbeing of detained human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani, who has been denied any family contact since 24 October.
Monitoring & Documentation ALQST calls for an end to attacks on journalists, and accountability for those responsible
On 2 November, which marks International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, ALQST calls for an end to the ongoing persecution, imprisonment and silencing of journalists in Saudi Arabia.
Monitoring & Documentation Fears grow for Saudi detainees awaiting trial or sentencing, following wave of 30-year-plus prison terms
In light of the unprecedented jail sentences issued against peaceful activists in Saudi Arabia, concerns are growing for those who remain in detention without charge or are facing prolonged trials or retrial.
Monitoring & Documentation Rights activist Mohammed al-Rabiah faces retrial despite completing prison term
ALQST calls on the Saudi Arabian authorities to release human rights activist Mohammed al-Rabiah, who is being retried in the SCC despite recently completing his prison term.
Monitoring & Documentation Death sentences for men who refused to make way for Neom
Saudi Arabia’s SCC has sentenced to death three members of the Huwaitat tribe whose family have been forcibly evicted and displaced to make way for the Neom megaproject being pursued by the Saudi authorities.
Monitoring & Documentation Prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia held beyond sentences’ expiry
Prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia are continuing to be arbitrarily detained even after their prison sentences expire, signalling another worrying trend.
Monitoring & Documentation Nourah al-Qahtani: Yet another lengthy jail sentence, for tweeting
Among the unprecedented slew of lengthy sentences recently handed down in the Saudi courts, on 9 August 2022 the Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal sentenced Nourah Saeed al-Qahtani to 45 years in jail.
Monitoring & Documentation Extreme jail terms in Saudi Arabia signal new phase of repression and new low for human rights
ALQST has been gravely concerned to see several lengthy prison sentences – of between 32 and 50 years – handed down recently to activists.