Eight Years of Enforced Disappearance Following a Smear Campaign by Saudi Cyber Armies: The Case of Dr. Razin Al-Razin

As September 2025 marks eight years since the arrest of Saudi lawyer and academic Dr. Razin Al-Razin, his case continues to symbolize the brutality of the Saudi regime’s repression. Arrested on 30 September 2017, Al-Razin was first targeted by a vicious smear campaign driven by state-sponsored online troll networks, aiming to discredit him and pave the way for his detention.

Dr. Al-Razin was not an extremist or a threat to public order—he was a respected law professor at Imam Muhammad bin Saud University, a human rights defender, and the former head of the executive council of the Consumer Protection Association. His advocacy for consumer rights and his willingness to challenge corrupt business practices aligned with powerful figures made him a target for those unwilling to tolerate any form of accountability or dissent.

Since his arrest, Al-Razin has been subjected to enforced disappearance. The Saudi authorities have refused to disclose his place of detention, the conditions in which he is held, or even whether he has formally appeared before a court. His family has been denied all contact, and lawyers have been systematically barred from accessing his case files.

Credible reports indicate that Al-Razin has suffered severe abuse during detention, including physical and psychological torture, verbal humiliation, and years of prolonged solitary confinement. Meanwhile, pro-government media outlets have amplified fabricated charges, such as “funding terrorism,” in a desperate attempt to legitimize what is nothing more than politically motivated persecution.

The continued detention of Dr. Al-Razin without trial or legal process, after eight years of silence and isolation, is an egregious violation of international human rights law. It highlights the regime’s reliance on enforced disappearance as a weapon against peaceful critics and reformist voices.

Together for Justice calls on the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, international human rights mechanisms, and the wider global community to intervene immediately to demand:

• The immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Razin Al-Razin.
• Full disclosure of his whereabouts and conditions of detention.
• Accountability for the torture and abuse he has suffered.
• Binding international pressure linking cooperation with Saudi Arabia to measurable human rights improvements.

Eight years on, Dr. Al-Razin remains a prisoner not of justice, but of a system that punishes truth and rewards impunity. His enforced disappearance is not only a crime against him, but a stain on the conscience of the international community that remains silent.