Call to Save the Al-Ghamdi Family from the Brutal Saudi Regime

Nearly a year ago, Saudi courts handed down a death sentence to a Saudi educator, Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, for posting several tweets critical of the authorities. His social media accounts, which had only 10 followers, led to this severe punishment. Recently, his brother Asaad faced the same court and received a 20-year prison sentence for similar tweets.

This situation has sparked a significant wave of international human rights criticism against the Saudi regime, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Although the Crown Prince publicly criticized the death sentence given to Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, he failed to implement any judicial reforms and permitted the harsh sentencing of Asaad for merely expressing his opinion on social media.

According to confidential sources, Asaad Al-Ghamdi was arrested in November 2022. Police forces raided his home in Al-Hamdaniya/Jeddah, in front of his wife and children. The security forces confiscated electronic devices and searched the house in a manner described as barbaric, with no regard for privacy of the home.

For ten months, Asaad was not informed of the reasons for his arrest or the charges against him. During this period, he was denied access to legal counsel and spent nearly four months in solitary confinement, despite suffering from epilepsy. In prison, he experienced severe seizures multiple times, nearly losing his life due to medical negligence by the prison administration.

After eight hearings, Asaad was convicted on May 29 of this year, ten months after his brother Muhammad was sentenced to death. Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, a retired Saudi teacher, has been detained for about two years for expressing his opinions on ruling policies through tweets seen by only 10 people. Despite this, he was sentenced to death in July 2023 by the Specialized Criminal Court in a secret trial.

Sources close to the family report that Muhammad Al-Ghamdi suffers from four brain and nerve diseases, as documented in official medical reports prior to his arrest. Despite his urgent need for medical treatment, the prison administration has refused the family’s requests for him to see a specialist. His health has further deteriorated after a nervous attack caused him to fall and shatter some of his teeth, yet he has not received appropriate medical care.

Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, a father of seven children living in Mecca, had only 10 followers on his social media accounts. According to court documents, he was sentenced to death on July 10, 2023, under the country’s vague anti-terrorism law for using his social media accounts to commit crimes such as insulting the Saudi king or crown prince and supporting a terrorist ideology.

The Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, which was established 15 years ago to try terrorism cases, has also been used to try government critics. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, when asked about the death sentence on Fox News, stated, “We are not happy about that… I feel ashamed… But under the jury system, you have to follow the laws, and I can’t say to the judge, ‘Do that and ignore the law,’ because… that’s against the rule of law. But do we have bad laws? Yes. Are we trying to change them? Yes.”

Ironically, the death sentence issued against Muhammad Al-Ghamdi was under the 2017 Anti-Terrorism Law, which was established by the Crown Prince himself.

Saeed Al-Ghamdi, the brother of Muhammad and Asaad, is also a prominent figure wanted by Saudi authorities for his political activity. According to Saeed, the harsh treatment of his brother Muhammad is a form of collective punishment and a retaliatory policy used by the authorities to intimidate and harass opponents, especially since the authorities have pressured him multiple times to return to the country.

Together for Justice expresses full solidarity with the Al-Ghamdi family and calls on the Saudi authorities to overturn these harsh sentences, which represent an escalation of government repression against freedom of expression and peaceful political opposition in the country. The organization also demands the release of all prisoners of conscience and a thorough investigation into the human rights violations they have endured.