Saudi Academic Ibrahim Al-Fares Continues to be Detained without Legal Basis for over 5 Years

Together for Justice expresses grave concern over the fate of the imprisoned Saudi academic Ibrahim Al-Faris, who was arrested by the Saudi security services during the September 2017 crackdown campaign launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) against dozens of writers, academics, preachers, activists, and political opponents.

He spent years in custody before being sentenced to 3 years in prison for advocating human rights in the Kingdom in a trial that was marred by recurrent and serious breaches of internationally agreed standards of fair trial.

The fact that Ibrahim Al-Faris, a Saudi cleric and assistant professor at the College of Education at King Saud University in Riyadh, is still being held in custody despite having served his sentence in prison, raises grave concerns about the state of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and essential for cultural and civilizational diversity.

We hope that Saudi authorities keep their reform commitments, particularly in terms of upholding free speech and human rights.

We also demand the immediate release of the detained preacher Ibrahim Al-Fares and all Saudi detainees who are subjected to serious human rights violations and abuses.

Now is the time to support human rights, freedom, and democracy all over the world. We appeal to the free world to show support for Dr. Ibrahim Al-Fares and all political detainees in Saudi jails, who truly deserve to be free.