Four Years On the Saudi Regime Continues to Forcibly Disappear Dr Lina Al-Sharif Without Legal Justification

The Saudi regime continues to forcibly disappear Dr. Lina Al-Sharif, a young Saudi physician, who has been held incommunicado since May 2021, following a brutal crackdown on activists, bloggers, and online commentators. Her case is emblematic of the state’s ongoing war on freedom of expression and its deliberate targeting of independent female voices in Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Al-Sharif, a specialist in women’s health, was active under a pseudonym in online chatrooms and forums, where she frequently spoke out on social issues, domestic violence, and government negligence—particularly regarding cases involving abused women. Through her medical work, she became a witness to widespread abuse and systemic silence. Her only “crime” was using digital platforms to call for accountability and reform.

For expressing her views and refusing to align with state propaganda, she was subjected to digital threats and harassment by regime-linked cyber units. Eventually, she was detained without warrant or public charges, and forcibly disappeared—cut off entirely from the outside world.

After nearly four months of complete silence, and only in response to a communication from the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, Saudi authorities admitted in September 2021 that she was being held in Al-Ha’ir Prison, one of the kingdom’s most notorious high-security detention facilities. They claimed she was being prosecuted under Saudi Arabia’s Counter-Terrorism and Terrorist Financing Law—a vague and controversial legal framework used extensively to criminalize dissent.

No further information has since been released about her condition, legal status, or access to medical or legal counsel. She remains effectively disappeared, with no communication with her family, no trial, and no judicial oversight—placing the Saudi regime in direct violation of international human rights law.

Together for Justice views Dr. Lina Al-Sharif’s detention as part of a systematic policy of repression targeting women and dissidents, and condemns the use of terrorism charges as a political weapon to silence reformist voices.

We urgently call on the international community to:

• Demand the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Lina Al-Sharif and full disclosure of her whereabouts and legal status.
• Ensure her right to communicate with her family and legal representation, and receive proper medical care.
• Launch an independent investigation into her arrest, detention conditions, and the continued use of enforced disappearance by Saudi authorities.
• Pressure the Saudi regime to repeal or reform counter-terrorism legislation that violates international standards and is used to silence peaceful dissent.

The enforced disappearance of Dr. Lina Al-Sharif is not an isolated case—it is a reflection of a repressive system built on silencing, punishing, and erasing those who speak out. The Saudi regime cannot continue to hide its crimes behind closed prison doors and public relations campaigns.

The international silence must end. We will not stop raising Lina’s name—until she is free.