Concerns over Saudi repression of free expression have been brought up again. It occurs after the brother of a prisoner, Mohammed al-Ghamdi, who was expecting the implementation of death sentence posted a series of tweets on his personal X account for which he received a 20-year prison term for the sole social media activism.
Upon receiving a death sentence, Mohammed al-Ghamdi was described as a victim of “bad laws” by Saudi young crown prince, in a bid to whitewash his governance’s face. However, Bin Salman approved the sentencing of Asaad al-Ghamdi, Ghamdi’s young sibling, using the same legislation. According to Mohammed al-Ghamdi’s attorneys, the defendant was denied access to a suitable attorney inside the country and was subjected to arbitrary imprisonment, as determined by a UN special rapporteur on arbitrary detention in a fresh investigation.
It was almost a year ago when Mohammed al-Ghamdi received the death punishment from Saudi courts. He has not received any information on the timing of the sentence’s execution or his ability to file a challenge. Two months later, Bin Salman declared that the court establishment was ashamed of al-Ghamdi’s death conviction. Human rights activist Ghamdi, a third brother who lives in the United Kingdom, was campaigning for the two brothers in recent months. The detention of his brothers is perceived as a way for Riyadh to intimidate foreign-based dissidents’ civic endeavors. While his family were direct witness to the incident, Asaad al-Ghamdi was taken into custody by Saudi officials during a nighttime assault on his al-Hamdaniya house late in 2022. Electronics were seized by security personnel, who also thoroughly searched every corner of the residence.
Long Month of Solitary Confinement
Al-Ghamedi waited for over ten months to learn the justification for his detention or the accusations against him, and during that time he was deprived of the right to see an attorney. Of that period, about one-third was spent in solitary confinement. He has epilepsy and has many falls while incarcerated. Two months ago, following multiple hearings and nearly a year after the older brother was given the death penalty, he was found guilty.
When questioned about the rumors of Mohammed al-Ghamdi’s death penalty on Fox News last year, Saudi Crown Prince claimed that it is shamefully correct and he doesn’t approve that: “We are doing our best to do that. We have changed tens of laws. I am trying to prioritize the change day by day.” Bin Salman also asserted that “do we have bad laws? Yes. Are we changing that? Yes.”
However, in less than a year, Asaad al-Ghamdi was found guilty of an identical crime and given a twenty-year prison term under a similar counterterrorism legislation in the country.
The kingdom’s rulers were informed in an investigation a few days ago by the United Nations committee on arbitrary detention that incarceration practices that are prevalent or regular may amount to crimes against humanity. The organization claimed that Mohammed al-Ghamdi’s detention was utterly incompatible with tenets of international human rights codes and that he had been jailed for practicing his legitimate privilege to free speech.
Mohammed al-Ghamdi was accused by Riyadh of inciting treason, causing turmoil, and interfering with public order. As stated by Saudi authorities, his judicial process was dealt with in a just and clear trial before a specialist court of law.
