Four Years Behind Bars for Demanding Jobs: Saudi Regime Jails Youth While Creating Thousands of Jobs Abroad
As the fourth anniversary of the May 2021 crackdown approaches, Together for Justice renews its call for the immediate release of Saudi youth activist Abdullah Jilan, who has been imprisoned simply for demanding that young Saudis be granted the right to employment and a dignified life.
A graduate of West Chester University in the United States, Abdullah Jilan was arrested upon returning to Saudi Arabia in May 2021. He was taken from his home in Medina in a violent raid involving 20 armed officers. His only “crime” was posting tweets calling for solutions to rising youth unemployment. He was forcibly disappeared for ten months before his family learned he was being held in a state security facility in Medina.
In November 2022, the Specialised Criminal Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison followed by a 10-year travel ban. The trial was secretive, lacking legal representation or a public record of the charges. During detention, Jilan was subjected to solitary confinement, deprived of medication, and tortured with electric shocks and prolonged sleep deprivation—acts that amount to serious violations of international law.
This harsh punishment stands in stark contrast to recent official announcements from the Saudi regime. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), proudly stated that over $85 billion has been invested in Europe, creating 240,000 jobs with plans to generate another 330,000 jobs overseas. Meanwhile, youth like Abdullah—who simply dared to ask why Saudis remain unemployed while their country funds economic growth abroad—are silenced, imprisoned, and denied the most basic human rights.
The case of Abdullah Jilan exemplifies the hypocrisy and brutality of the Saudi system, which punishes voices of reform while marketing an image of “progress” to the international community. With the kingdom preparing to host the 2034 World Cup, the world must confront this contradiction.
Together for Justice demands:
- The immediate and unconditional release of Abdullah Jilan.
- An independent investigation into the abuses he endured.
- A halt to international partnerships that ignore Saudi Arabia’s escalating repression.
The silence of the international community is no longer neutrality—it is complicity.
