Eight Years Behind Bars: The Saudi Regime’s Unrelenting Persecution of Scholar Dr. Mohammed Musa Al-Shareef
In a stark example of the Saudi regime’s ongoing crackdown on independent scholars, academics, and peaceful reform advocates, Dr. Mohammed Musa Al-Shareef, a renowned Islamic scholar, preacher, and former airline pilot, remains imprisoned under harsh conditions eight years after his arrest in September 2017.
Dr. Al-Shareef was detained during one of the largest waves of arrests in modern Saudi history, when the regime targeted hundreds of intellectuals, clerics, journalists, and reformists accused of expressing independent thought or supporting peaceful social reform. His arrest marked a decisive turn in the regime’s policy of criminalising free expression and silencing dissent.
Following months of secret, unfair proceedings before the Specialized Criminal Court, Dr. Al-Shareef was initially sentenced to five years in prison. In January 2023, an appellate court sharply increased the sentence to thirteen years, in a move widely condemned by rights advocates as politically motivated and legally baseless.
The Saudi regime charged Dr. Al-Shareef with more than twenty vague offences, including “destabilising the kingdom’s security” and “participating in relief efforts inside and outside the country” — the latter being a purely humanitarian activity that should be commended, not criminalised. These accusations illustrate a troubling pattern in which the regime abuses counter-terrorism laws to suppress non-violent voices under the pretext of protecting national security.
Secret Trials and Deteriorating Health
All of Dr. Al-Shareef’s hearings were held behind closed doors, denying him access to legal representation and to due process. Witnesses who managed to see him in court described his visibly deteriorating health, marked by exhaustion and pallor, raising serious fears for his well-being. Reports indicate that he is subjected to medical neglect, a tactic frequently used by the Saudi regime to exert pressure on prisoners of conscience.
Such treatment — prolonged arbitrary detention, denial of medical care, and secret proceedings — constitutes a flagrant violation of international human rights law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights, to which the kingdom is a party. Yet the Saudi regime continues to operate with impunity, shielded by international silence and political interests.
A Scholar Criminalised for His Humanity
Dr. Al-Shareef is not merely a detainee — he is a distinguished intellectual who has significantly contributed to Islamic studies, history, and social thought. His writings and lectures, which emphasised moderation, education, and moral responsibility, inspired millions across the Arab and Muslim world. Beyond academia, he was also active in humanitarian work, providing aid to those in need both inside and outside Saudi Arabia — acts now cynically used by the regime as evidence against him.
Together for Justice strongly condemns the continued detention and harsh sentencing of Dr. Mohammed Musa Al-Shareef, which epitomises the Saudi regime’s systematic use of the judiciary as a tool of political repression. His case underscores the regime’s ongoing assault on intellectual freedom and its relentless punishment of those who dare to speak truth or pursue humanitarian causes.
Together for Justice calls on the international community — including the United Nations, the European Union, and all human rights bodies — to pressure the Saudi regime to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Al-Shareef, ensure proper medical treatment, and end the misuse of counter-terrorism laws to silence peaceful scholars and reformists.
The continued detention of Dr. Al-Shareef exposes the hollowness of the regime’s claims of reform and its persistence in weaponising the law to sustain authoritarian control.
