Today marks the fifth anniversary of activist and blogger Raif Badawi’s imprisonment in Saudi Arabia on charges of apostasy and allegedly insulting Islam in his blog “Free Saudi Liberals.” Americans for Democracy (ADHRB) strongly condemns his continued imprisonment and the Saudi government’s suppression of free expression and targeting of critics. Saudi authorities detained Badawi on[…]
On 4 May 2017, Ben Emmerson, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, returned from a five-day visit of Saudi Arabia. Upon the conclusion of his trip, he released his preliminary observations. While he noted that the Saudi government was engaging in some positive steps to[…]
The Government of Saudi Arabia is pressuring the Government of Qatar to extradite Saudi activist Mohammed Abdullah al-Otaibi from Qatar, where he is seeking political asylum, back to Saudi Arabia. If Qatar gives into the Saudi government’s pressure, al-Otaibi is at risk of being arbitrarily detained and sentenced to prison in an unfair trial, if[…]
On 12 June, Waleed Abu al-Khair ended his five-day hunger strike. He initiated his hunger strike to protest ill-treatment by the administration of the Thahban prison in Jeddah. Prison officials refused to provide him with the medical care he needs for diabetes and intestinal complications, and prevented him from accessing any reading material. He ended[…]
On the occasion of the 31st session of the Human Rights Council, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain submitted for the official record the following written statement regarding human rights in Saudi Arabia. Please continue reading for the full text, or click here to read a PDF of the written statement. Death Sentences and[…]