Academic Mohammed Al-Hudhaif… A Victim of the Saudi Regime’s Submission to Abu Dhabi’s Demands?
Over the past years, the Saudi regime has reproduced one of the ugliest forms of political retaliation through the arrest of Saudi writer and academic Dr. Mohammed Al-Hudhaif, who has spent nearly a decade behind bars after receiving a 13-year prison sentence simply for exercising his legitimate right to free expression and criticising the UAE’s interference in Saudi domestic affairs.
On 19 March 2016, Al-Hudhaif was arbitrarily arrested at Riyadh Airport upon his return from Turkey, after posting a tweet questioning the legitimacy of Abu Dhabi’s involvement inside Saudi Arabia and its role in orchestrating campaigns against local civil society groups. Instead of engaging with his opinion as part of public debate, the Saudi authorities resorted to their familiar tactic: silencing the voice by burying it under vague charges such as “insulting a friendly state.”
From the moment of his arrest, Al-Hudhaif was denied his right to legal defence, prevented from appointing a lawyer, and subjected to a secret trial lacking the minimum standards of due process. He was first sentenced to five years in prison and a five-year travel ban. The sentence was later increased to nine years, and eventually escalated to 13 years in early 2023—a clear example of political revenge against anyone who dares to criticise the UAE’s influence inside Saudi Arabia.
Reliable information confirms that his arrest followed a direct complaint from the UAE government, which was amplified by a coordinated online smear campaign led by electronic troll networks, aiming to destroy his reputation and incite hostility against him. This further exposes the depth of cooperation between Saudi and Emirati security apparatuses in suppressing dissenting voices.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Hudhaif is not a criminal or agitator. He is a respected academic and reformist intellectual with an honourable academic record:
– Bachelor’s degree with honours from King Saud University
– Master’s degree in Media Theory from the University of Kansas
– PhD from the University of Wales
He founded the Committee for the Defence of Legitimate Rights in 1993, contributed to numerous media programmes, and authored several works with a recognised presence in the cultural sphere.
His continued imprisonment is not only a blatant violation of freedom of expression and human rights but also irrefutable evidence of the Saudi regime’s submission to Emirati pressure—an alarming abandonment of national sovereignty in favour of external agendas that bear no relation to the interests of the Saudi people.
We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Mohammed Al-Hudhaif, and for accountability for all those involved in his arbitrary arrest, mistreatment, and politically motivated prosecution. We also urge the United Nations—particularly the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression—to take a clear stance on this political crime and pressure the Saudi regime to end its systematic campaign against independent voices.
