Activist detained in Saudi Arabia as crackdown intensifies

Prominent human rights activist Abdulaziz al-Ghamdi has been detained by security services in Saudi Arabia, his brother told MEE on Thursday. It is the latest in a series of arrests by authorities who have been cracking down on dissidence in the Kingdom.

Ghamdi was arrested at his home in Riyadh on Tuesday and authorities told his family they cannot communicate with him until interrogations are completed, which may take three months. The 40-year-old holds a PhD in Business Administration from Oxford University and is an associate of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA).

The ACPRA was established in 2009 by a group of academics to raise awareness of human rights and was recently disbanded by authorities. Its members have been targeted for arrest, with co-founders Abdullah bin Ali al Hamid and Mohammad bin Fahad al Qahtani sentenced to five and 10 years in prison respectively last year.

Human rights activists say authorities are detaining people on the basis that they are documenting abuses by the state. Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, told MEE that “Saudi Arabia is waging a campaign to silence peaceful dissidents merely for calling attention to the government’s human rights abuses”. He added “King Abdullah needs to end arrests and prosecutions of peaceful activists if he wants his legacy to be reform and not repression.”

Security service officers searched Ghamdi’s home last year, taking books and electronic devices, while advising that he stop his human rights activities. He refused and tweeted after the raid urging people to “speak out against abuses, the fear barrier has been broken”. In the lead up to his arrest, Ghadi regularly met and discussed issues of human rights with activists in Riyadh, encouraging people to document abuses against political prisoners including allegations of torture, arbitrary detention and lack of due legal process.

The number of political prisoners in Saudi Arabia is unclear. The Ministry of Interior says there are 2,365 people in prison, but activists say the number is much higher. Ali al Ahmed, director of the Washington-based Gulf Institute, said to MEE “We think there are at least 10,000 political prisoners but it is impossible to be accurate as authorities refuse to acknowledge they are holding many of those detained and they do not allow independent civil society organisations to operate."

Officials at the Minister of Interior in Saudi Arabia were not available for comment.