Human Rights defender Al-Sunaidi has been sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by an eight year travel ban upon release and a $13,300 fine
Al-Sunaidi was sentenced by the Specialised Criminal Court, the SCC, set up in 2008 to deal with terrorism cases only. His offences include:
- Inciting against public order for signing a petition
- Insulting the King
- Spreading chaos
- Inciting public opinion online via his Twitter account.
Al-Sunaidi was arrested in March 2015 and was interrogated about his online presence and activities. Al-Sunaidi’s was denied proper access to his lawyers, both during his interrogation and also during his trial, leading a severely unfair trial. We at ALQST, urge the Saudi Arabia authorities to respect human rights and call for an increase of pressure on the Saudi authorities for the immediate release of Abdulaziz Al-Sunaidi. The authorities must drop all charges against him without any conditions attached.
