Imprisoned Saudi Journalist Zuhair Kutbi at Immense Risk
Together for Justice raises alarm bells over the difficult health situation of the Saudi journalist Zuhair Kutbi as he has been subjected to deliberate medical negligence in Saudi custody despite having cancer.
Kutbi was arrested in January 2019, only two years after his release from Saudi jails. His last arrest came despite his critical health condition.
Kutbi, 66, was first arrested in 2015 for demanding democratic reforms in the Kingdom. He was sentenced to four years in prison, wholly suspended for two years.
He was also fined 100,000 Saudi riyals and banned from writing for 15 years. His Twitter account and website were shut down. In 2019, he was re-arrested and charged with “sedition.”
We, in Together for Justice, warn that Kutbi is in real danger in light of his continued detention despite his serious health deterioration.
We also call on UN rights bodies to put pressure on Saudi authorities for the release of all sick detainees in Saudi jails, mainly the cancer-stricken detainees.
We further call on human rights defenders to speak up for sick detainees’ right to receive the appropriate medical treatment, and to open an urgent investigation into all the violations they have been subjected to, and hold accountable those responsible for.
Firm positions are needed to be taken against the Saudi regime till releasing all prisoners of conscience and ending human rights violations.
