Muhammad Al-Jadei receives 18-year prison sentence over tweets
Nearly four years have passed since the arrest of social media activist and blogger Mohammed Al-Jadei in the first quarter of 2020. He was not brought before a court for a full two years, while being denied any communication with his attorney or familiy.
In 2022, Al-Judaie was unexpectedly sentenced to eighteen years in prison during a secret trial where he was not allowed to defend himself or even appoint a lawyer. The authorities also did not also reveal his indictment file or charges, making the court ruling extremely unjust and arbitrary.
Private sources said that the circumstances surrounding Al-Jadaie’s arrest included a number of old tweets he sent out years ago, criticising various social policies and calling for greater freedom for youth to enable them to positively and energetically contribute to the advancement of their community. These tweets, however, infuriated the authorities, who oppose reform and enlightenment in any form as long as it does not align with the Crown Prince’s vision.
In this regard, we reaffirm our calls for the relevant UN working groups, the Human Rights Council, and all of the Saudi regime’s international allies—including governments and regimes—to take proactive steps to exert pressure on the Saudi regime to immediately and unconditionally free all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience detained in the Kingdom, including the activist Muhammad Al-Jadei, who was denied his freedom and other fundamental rights only for trying to voice his opinions.
