Mohammed al-Ghamdi

Arrest and jail information

• Prison: Al-Ha’ir Prison, Riyadh
• Date of arrest: 11 June 2022
• Manner of arrest: Saudi security forces arrested al-Ghamidi in front of his wife and children outside their home in Mecca. They took him to al-Dhahban Prison, north of Jeddah, where he was held in solitary confinement for four months. His family was unable to contact him during this period and he did not have access to a lawyer. The authorities later transferred al-Ghamdi to the al-Ha’ir Prison in Riyadh.

Trial information

• Charges: Al-Ghamidi has been sentenced a man to death based solely on his Twitter, and YouTube activity. The charges are “describing the King or the Crown Prince in a way that undermines religion or justice”, “supporting a terrorist ideology, "Communication with a terrorist entity”, and "Publishing false news with the intention of executing a terrorist crime". Al-Ghamdi’s trial judgment states that he used his accounts on Twitter and YouTube to commit his “crimes.”
• Court: Specialised Criminal Court (SCC)
• Verdict: He was sentenced to death. The SCC then overturned the ruling and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
• Date of verdict: 10 July 2023

Violations

• Arbitrary arrest/ detention ,
• Denied contact with family ,
• Denied access to a lawyer ,
• Torture and ill-treatment ,
• Observers denied access to court hearings ,
• Denied access to healthcare

Violation details

Al-Ghamidi was arrested in front of his family, without a warrant. He was forcibly disappeared for four months before contacting his family, and was held in solitary confinement. The prison authorities deliberately neglected him medically in Dhahban Prison. This negligence caused him to have a seizure that led to him falling unconscious and breaking one of his teeth. Despite Al-Ghamdi’s repeated requests to see a specialised doctor due to the deterioration of his health condition, the authorities refused to do so. After his repeated insistence, and when he reached a critical stage of pain, he was presented to a general doctor in the prison who does not have the necessary experience to deal with his condition, while the prison administration continues to refuse to refer him to a specialist doctor. As a result of this ongoing medical negligence, Al-Ghamdi continues to suffer from a deteriorating health condition and constant pain.