Together for Justice reminds the international community of the case of Saudi journalist and writer Mohammed Al-Sadiq, who was arrested in April 2019 as part of a wider crackdown targeting writers, intellectuals, and peaceful voices in Saudi Arabia. More than seven years later, his whereabouts remain unknown, with no clear information about his place of detention, health condition, or legal status.
Al-Sadiq was reportedly arrested because of his writings and public positions, including articles in which he called for greater rights and freedoms for women in Saudi Arabia, expressed clear opposition to normalization with the Israeli occupation, and urged Saudi authorities not to move in that direction. Instead of treating these views as part of legitimate public debate on political and social issues, Saudi authorities turned them into grounds for arrest and disappearance.
Since his arrest in April 2019, Saudi authorities have not publicly disclosed any clear charges against him, nor have they revealed where he is being held or under what conditions. There is also no reliable information indicating that he has been brought before a court, granted regular contact with his family, or allowed effective access to legal counsel. This prolonged blackout raises serious concerns that he may be held incommunicado or subjected to enforced disappearance, placing full responsibility for his safety on the Saudi authorities.
Mohammed Al-Sadiq’s case exposes a dangerous dimension of repression in Saudi Arabia. Journalists are not only targeted for directly criticizing the authorities; they are also punished for taking positions on public issues, including rejecting normalization with the Israeli occupation, defending women’s rights, or expressing peaceful reformist views. The issue for the authorities is not the existence of a crime, but the existence of an independent voice outside the official narrative.
Together for Justice stresses that arresting a journalist over peaceful articles and opinions constitutes a direct violation of freedom of expression and press freedom. Keeping his place of detention unknown for years further aggravates the case, turning his arrest into a tool of intimidation against every writer, journalist, or public commentator who might challenge the official line.
Al-Sadiq’s case forms part of the broader wave of repression that has escalated in Saudi Arabia since Mohammed bin Salman became Crown Prince in 2017. The crackdown has targeted journalists, writers, activists, human rights defenders, religious figures, and academics. Public writing, media work, and social media expression have become high-risk spaces where a peaceful opinion can lead to prison, disappearance, or years of uncertainty.
The continued disappearance of Mohammed Al-Sadiq for more than seven years exposes the stark contradiction between Saudi Arabia’s official narrative of reform and openness and the reality of a state that treats articles, political views, and social commentary as security threats. A government that disappears a journalist because of his position on normalization or his support for women’s rights is not protecting stability; it is criminalizing independent thought and suffocating public debate.
From a legal perspective, the failure to disclose Al-Sadiq’s fate or place of detention, the denial of access to his family and lawyers, and the absence of transparent judicial proceedings amount to grave violations, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, denial of fair trial guarantees, and violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Together for Justice holds the Saudi authorities fully responsible for Mohammed Al-Sadiq’s life, physical safety, and psychological well-being. The organization calls for the immediate disclosure of his whereabouts, health condition, and legal status, and for his family and lawyers to be allowed immediate and unrestricted access to him.
Together for Justice further calls for his immediate and unconditional release, along with all journalists and prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia, and for an end to the targeting of writers because of their positions on public issues, including opposition to normalization with the Israeli occupation and advocacy for reform and rights.
Mohammed Al-Sadiq did not commit a crime. He wrote, took a position, and refused to accept that public issues should become spaces of enforced silence. More than seven years after his disappearance, his case remains a stark reminder of the reality of press freedom in Saudi Arabia, where a word can lead its writer into the unknown.