Detainees Facing Slow Killing in Saudi Prisons Despite Finishing their Sentences

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today is not working according to the law, but according to the desire of the pro-government officials who decide the fate of opponents and reformers.

Despite finishing their sentence, a large number of prisoners of conscience remain imprisoned incommunicado, with no specific reason or a period. They are suffering from horrible detention conditions, torture, isolation, and medical negligence although some of them suffer from chronic diseases and need special care.

According to a report issued by the SANAD organisation for human rights, the Saudi prison authorities continue their violations against prisoners of conscience, causing them a serious health and psychological problems that are difficult to treat and at a later stage, with the aim of naturally killing them.

One of these detainees is the Saudi “Deifallah Zaid Al-Sareih Al-Otaibi,” who suffers from complete paralysis as a result of deliberate medical negligence in prison.

Despite his paralysis and other health problems, Al-Otaibi had announced going on a hunger strike several times especially in 2019, protesting his detention conditions and ill-treatment.

Al-Otaibi was arrested in March 2008 after sharing ideas to improve the living conditions of the Saudi people. Al-Otaibi is one of the prominent examples that history cannot forget as he continues to hold his independent reformative ideas despite the arbitration and unfair detention.

Yahya Al-Wadaei, is another detained activist in Saudi who is still under arrest despite finishing his unjust sentence over a year ago.

Al-Wadaei was arrested in 2013, due to his criticism of the crackdowns against activists, and demanding their release.

Despite his arrest in 2013, the Criminal Court sentenced him, two years after his arrest, to 6 years in prison.

Yahya Al-Wadaei, a Saudi activist and blogger, was arrested in 2013 for sharing tweets in which he declared his solidarity with the prisoners of conscience at the time, demanded to improve their conditions of detention and ensure that they obtain all their legal and human rights, only to become a victim due to expressing his opinion, which leads him to prison since then.

In 2016 -three years after his arrest- the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced him to six years in prison in a trial that lacked all standards of justice. His term was scheduled to end in 2019, yet he remains arbitrarily detained so far.

Dr. Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashemi was also arrested and sentenced for 30 years, for his activities and reformist ideas, as he sought to establish an organization for human rights and was reform along with a large group of reformists called “Jeddah reformers”, who have all been under arrest since 2007.

Al-Hashemi was known for his serious stances against the unjust decisions of the regime and for expressing his opinion to reform the country’s affairs and government decisions.

According to members of his family, “Al-Hashemi” is subjected to constant torture and harassment, and he has the harshest and longest prison sentence of 30 years.

In 2016, Al-Hashemi suffered a stroke as a result of the psychological and physical torture he was subjected to in Dhahban prison in Jeddah, where he has been staying since 2007.

Al-Hashemi is a doctor specializing in family and community medicine, and had a large presence in the media, and sought to support reform in all different fields.

In September 2017, the Saudi authorities carried out the largest campaign of arrests against dozens of preachers, academics, economists, writers, activists, thinkers, and others, without clarifying their fate, charging them or holding public trials for them, thus making 2017 the year of arrests and the worst year for human rights in the history of Saudi Arabia.

More: Tragic prison Conditions Suffered by Prisoners of Conscience in Saudi Arabia