Eight Years of Injustice: Sheikh Mohammed Al-Munajjid’s Health Deteriorates Amid Continued Detention
After more than eight years in detention, prominent Saudi scholar Sheikh Mohammed Al-Munajjid remains imprisoned without a legal basis or trial. His condition has reportedly deteriorated severely as he continues to be denied adequate medical care despite suffering from multiple chronic illnesses.
Arrested in September 2017, Al-Munajjid was among dozens of preachers, academics, and thinkers targeted during the infamous “September crackdown,” a wave of arrests ordered by the Saudi authorities under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to silence independent voices and suppress any perceived dissent.
Throughout his detention, Al-Munajjid has been subjected to ill-treatment, deprived of access to his family and legal representation, and held in conditions that violate both Saudi and international law. Reports indicate that his body has become frail and weak due to deliberate medical neglect—one of the most common methods of abuse used by the regime against prisoners of conscience.
Sheikh Al-Munajjid is widely respected across the Muslim world as an Islamic scholar and founder of Zad Academy, one of the earliest digital platforms for Islamic education. He was also among the first to introduce online religious teaching in the Arab world, making knowledge accessible to millions. His intellectual independence and refusal to align with official narratives are believed to be the main reasons behind his continued detention.
Al-Munajjid’s arrest came amid a broader campaign of repression that has seen thousands of academics, activists, and preachers imprisoned merely for expressing their opinions or refusing to endorse government policies. Many, like him, were outspoken in their support for Palestine and condemnation of Israeli aggression—stances that have increasingly drawn retaliation from Saudi authorities under their new political alignments.
Together for Justice expresses deep concern over Sheikh Al-Munajjid’s deteriorating health and the ongoing denial of medical treatment. His prolonged arbitrary detention constitutes a flagrant violation of international human rights conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights, both of which Saudi Arabia has ratified.
Together for Justice calls on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sheikh Mohammed Al-Munajjid, allow him access to necessary medical care, and end the systematic persecution of peaceful scholars and reformist voices.
Eight years on, his imprisonment stands as a symbol of the Saudi regime’s relentless repression of free thought and religious independence.
