Saudi authorities continue to rely on enforced disappearance as a systematic tool to silence activists and eliminate peaceful civic engagement. One of the clearest and most enduring examples is the case of Ahmed Zahir Al-Muzaini, who has been forcibly disappeared since his arrest during the September 2017 crackdown.
Al-Muzaini was detained by Saudi security forces in the context of a mass arrest campaign targeting activists, writers, and individuals engaged in social and human rights work. Since the moment of his arrest, the authorities have deliberately withheld information regarding his whereabouts, legal status, and conditions of detention. His family has been denied any meaningful contact or official confirmation of his fate, placing him outside the protection of the law for more than seven years.
In 2020, Ahmed Al-Muzaini was subjected to a secret trial before the Specialized Criminal Court, a body widely criticized for its lack of independence and its routine use in political cases. The proceedings were conducted behind closed doors, with no public disclosure of the charges, no transparency regarding evidence, and no information about any verdict or sentence. These practices constitute a grave violation of the right to a fair trial and reinforce the enforced disappearance as a continuing crime rather than a past event.
The combination of secret detention, secret trial, and total information blackout reflects a deliberate strategy to erase individuals from public and legal visibility. Enforced disappearance in this context is not incidental but institutionalized, serving as a mechanism of collective intimidation aimed at deterring others from engaging in legitimate social or rights-based activity.
Ahmed Al-Muzaini’s case is not isolated. Numerous activists and detainees of conscience remain forcibly disappeared in Saudi detention facilities, with no access to lawyers, no communication with their families, and no independent oversight. The authorities’ refusal to acknowledge their detention or disclose their fate places these individuals at heightened risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, while guaranteeing de facto impunity for perpetrators.
Together for Justice stresses that enforced disappearance constitutes a serious violation of international law and, when practiced systematically, amounts to a crime against humanity. The Saudi authorities’ continued concealment of Ahmed Al-Muzaini’s fate, combined with the use of secret judicial proceedings, demonstrates a blatant disregard for fundamental legal safeguards and international human rights obligations.
Together for Justice calls for the immediate disclosure of Ahmed Al-Muzaini’s whereabouts and legal status, unhindered access to his family and legal counsel, and an end to all forms of secret detention and secret trials. The organization further urges international human rights bodies, UN special procedures, and concerned governments to take urgent action to address the ongoing practice of enforced disappearance in Saudi Arabia and to hold those responsible accountable.