Abdullah Al-Khudaidi: Saudi Engineer Disappeared Since 2018 After Demanding Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities
Together for Justice reminds the international community of the case of young Saudi engineer Abdullah Al-Khudaidi, who has been detained since July 2018. As of July 2026, he has completed eight years in detention and enforced disappearance, entering his ninth year with his family still denied any information about his place of detention, health condition, or legal status.
Al-Khudaidi’s case is not only another case of a prisoner of conscience in Saudi Arabia. It exposes a double layer of repression: the suppression of peaceful expression on one hand, and the disregard for the rights of persons with disabilities on the other. A young man who returned to his country with a degree in electrical engineering from Canada, hoping to build a professional future and contribute to his society, ended up behind bars after speaking about his suffering and the exclusion faced by qualified people with physical disabilities.
The case dates back to July 2018, when Al-Khudaidi published a series of tweets expressing concern over the shrinking space available to persons with disabilities and calling for real opportunities in the labor market and society. His demands were based on competence, dignity, and equal participation — not charity, exclusion, or symbolic inclusion. These peaceful statements contained no incitement, no violence, and no recognizable criminal act.
Saudi authorities treated those tweets as grounds for arrest. Since then, Al-Khudaidi’s news has been completely cut off from his family, who have repeatedly attempted to obtain information about his whereabouts, detention conditions, health status, and legal situation, without any meaningful response from the authorities. The concern is even more serious because Al-Khudaidi reportedly has a disability affecting his hand, suffers from heart-related medical conditions, and requires special care and living conditions suited to his health needs.
Concealing the fate of a person with medical and disability-related needs for years is not only a violation of his liberty. It places his life and physical integrity at direct risk. A state that detains a person in such circumstances bears heightened responsibility to provide adequate medical care, ensure safe detention conditions, and prevent any form of neglect, ill-treatment, or abuse.
Together for Justice stresses that Abdullah Al-Khudaidi did not commit a crime. He demanded fair space for persons with disabilities in society and the workplace, and expressed frustration over the lack of opportunities available to people with scientific, intellectual, and professional qualifications. It is unacceptable for calls for inclusion, equality, and equal opportunity to be treated as grounds for arrest and disappearance.
His case exposes a stark contradiction in Saudi Arabia’s official rhetoric about development, empowerment, and Vision 2030. A state that claims to modernize the labor market and invest in human potential cannot, at the same time, imprison a qualified young engineer for demanding recognition and opportunity for persons with disabilities. Real reform is not measured by slogans, but by how a state treats those who demand justice.
From a legal perspective, Al-Khudaidi’s arrest over peaceful tweets constitutes a direct violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The complete blackout surrounding his fate since the first day of his detention raises serious concerns of enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention. The failure to account for his health condition and disability-related needs further compounds the violations against him, including his right to health, dignity, and physical safety.
Together for Justice holds the Saudi authorities fully responsible for Abdullah Al-Khudaidi’s life, physical safety, and psychological well-being. The organization calls for the immediate disclosure of his place of detention, health condition, and legal status, and for his family and lawyers to be granted immediate and unrestricted access to him.
Together for Justice further calls for his immediate and unconditional release, an independent investigation into the circumstances of his arrest and disappearance, and accountability for those responsible for denying him his basic rights. The organization also urges United Nations mechanisms and human rights organizations concerned with freedom of expression and the rights of persons with disabilities to act urgently on his case.
Eight years after his disappearance, Abdullah Al-Khudaidi’s case remains a stark example of a reality in which speaking about suffering becomes a crime, demanding opportunity becomes grounds for arrest, and even professional competence cannot protect a person from repression. He wanted to be part of his country’s future. Saudi authorities responded by making him disappear into its prisons.
