In 2013, Saudi Arabian human rights defender Yahya Assiri fled to the United Kingdom with his young family, seeking political asylum. For years, Yahya had been an officer in the Saudi air force, but seeing injustice and corruption all around him he had begun engaging online  with other Saudi writers and activists about the fate of their country, under the pseudonym ‘Abo Fares’. 

Saudi Arabia has been an absolute monarchy for almost 100 years, with no political representation and few liberties. Yet as more and more Saudis began voicing demands for their basic rights, especially following the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, the authorities responded by further restricting the space for public criticism. Many of Yahya’s friends and associates were being detained and prosecuted, including members of the Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA). It was not safe for him to remain. 

In August 2014 Yahya, now in the UK, established ALQST for Human Rights (‘Al-qist’ means ‘justice’ in Arabic), for the purpose of defending and promoting human rights in Saudi Arabia. This would have been impossible inside the Saudi kingdom, where independent NGOs are not permitted and ACPRA had by now been dissolved by the authorities. Taking advantage of Yahya’s being in the UK, ALQST sought to link Saudi Arabia’s besieged human rights movement with the international community. Key to this was its extensive network of sources within the country, enabling the organisation to closely monitor human rights violations on the ground, one of few actors able to do so. Saudis could trust ALQST to defend human rights for all, without distinction, and other stakeholders could rely on the information to be accurate. 

Our work 

By the end of 2014 ALQST was up and running. Based on its close monitoring of events, it published regular tweets, statements and in-depth reports, spotlighting egregious rights abuses. Each year it took stock of the alarming human rights situation in its comprehensive annual reports. It soon established a database of political prisoners, as the number of cases unfortunately mounted, especially after Mohammed bin Salman’s rise to power as Crown Prince in June 2017 ushered in further repression and sweeping waves of arbitrary arrests. 

ALQST has always sought not only to document abuses but also to bring them to wider attention. From its inception, ALQST fostered strong relationships with partner NGOs, journalists and politicians. As the small but dedicated ALQST team has gradually expanded, it has organised events, conducted campaigns, and developed extensive advocacy programmes at United Nations, European Union and national levels, as well as with individual and corporate stakeholders. All of this work, together with ALQST’s active presence in the media, has helped to challenge complicity in abuses and mobilise pressure on the Saudi authorities to improve their human rights record.

These concerted efforts have achieved many successes along the way, and we have seen numerous examples of our work achieving real impact. Every release of a prisoner of conscience, every death sentence commuted, and every reform announced is a small but precious victory. 

The ALQST team are proud to be standing on the shoulders of Saudi Arabia’s heroic human rights movement. They have always sought to publicise the courageous work of Saudi human rights defenders, as well as successfully nominating them for international awards such as the Right Livelihood Award and the Geuzenpenning – and in 2020, ALQST received an award of its own, Human Rights First’s prestigious William D. Zabel Human Rights Award, in recognition of its contribution. 

We are extremely thankful to everyone who has played a role in our journey over the years, including staff, volunteers, board members, NGOs, donors, supporters and everyone else who has taken a stance in support of human rights. We think of those who are sadly no longer with us, including our late Executive Director Alaa Al-Siddiq. 
 

Looking ahead 

As we reflect on the past ten years, we are very much focused on the future. In an environment of mounting repression in Saudi Arabia, our monitoring remains as vital as ever as a foundation for follow-up action. There is still much work to do to cover the scale of abuses on the ground today, as well as responding to emerging demands for campaigning on socio-economic issues and environmental rights. 

We face a challenging global situation, as Saudi Arabia’s leaders enjoy increasing diplomatic acceptance despite their history of rights violations. This means that we need to continue and extend our advocacy efforts, both through traditional channels like the United Nations and also increasingly in the world of business, as Saudi Arabia seeks foreign investment and its Public Investment Fund (PIF) invests massively in global companies, sports and entertainment, and giga-projects like Neom.

In a country where civil society has been all but eliminated and disinformation is rife, the Saudi authorities’ hollow reformist narrative has gained traction in some places, and there is a need to unpack and expose the reality of Mohammed bin Salman’s rule. A relatively new area of ALQST’s work is facilitating engagement in public discourse on issues of relevance to Saudi audiences. Crucial to this is the role of the steadily growing Saudi diaspora, with more and more Saudis fleeing their country in search of safety and freedom, as our latest groundbreaking report has shown.

Take part in our anniversary campaign

From today, 2 September 2024, as well as throughout the month and for the rest of the year, we’ll be carrying out a range of activities to mark our anniversary, including sharing videos from staff and partners and examples of our work. We invite you to engage and support us over this period in any way you can, such as: 

• sharing a message or video on Twitter/X and other social media platforms, using the hashtag #ALQST10Years; 
• signing up to our weekly newsletter; 
• making a donation to support our work; or
• taking action on any of the individual cases or issues we work on.

To find out more about our work, read Global Citizen’s explainer. Or to discuss in more detail how you can help or collaborate, please reach out to us via email: contact@alqst.org.