Five Years Behind Bars: Rakan Al-Asiri Still Detained for Opposing Normalisation
In April 2020, Saudi authorities arrested Rakan Al-Asiri, a young software engineering graduate from King Saud University, after he published a series of videos and tweets in which he peacefully voiced his rejection of normalisation with the Israeli occupation, expressed support for women’s rights, and called for moderate social reforms. Five years later, Al-Asiri remains in arbitrary detention without any formal charges or access to a fair trial.
Al-Asiri used his online platforms to highlight social issues in the kingdom, always speaking in a respectful, non-provocative manner. Despite having no criminal record, the authorities responded to his peaceful expression with enforced disappearance, degrading treatment, and ongoing harassment of his family, including restrictions on visits that are only granted after numerous formal requests and remain severely limited in duration.
Rather than respecting his legal rights, the Saudi authorities chose to exploit him as a propaganda tool. In June 2022, two years after his detention began, Al-Asiri was coerced into appearing in a state-produced television programme aired on the official Al-Ikhbariya channel. The segment promoted alleged “improvements” at Al-Ha’ir Prison, where he is being held—an effort clearly intended to sanitise the image of the Saudi security services and prison system.
This whitewashing attempt was especially disturbing given Al-Ha’ir’s notorious record of abuse. The prison has been linked to numerous cases of torture and medical neglect, most notably the death of prominent Saudi human rights defender Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid, who died in custody in 2020 after being denied urgent medical care.
Al-Asiri’s televised appearance was staged inside what activists claim were hotel-like halls, not the actual prison facility. He was shown promoting activities allegedly offered by the General Directorate of Investigation and State Security inside the prison—an effort widely seen as forced participation in state propaganda.
The continued detention of Rakan Al-Asiri, without trial or due process, constitutes a grave violation of international law—particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Saudi Arabia has ratified. Forcing detainees to appear in state-run media to serve a political narrative further underscores the regime’s manipulation of public perception and systematic denial of basic human rights.
Together for Justice calls on the international community to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Rakan Al-Asiri and to condemn all forms of retaliation against peaceful expression in Saudi Arabia. We also urge an independent investigation into the conditions of his detention and full accountability for all those responsible for the violations he has endured.
As long as young people like Rakan Al-Asiri are punished for expressing their opinions, and prisons are used as tools to silence dissent, meaningful reform in Saudi Arabia remains an illusion.
