Together for Justice expresses grave concern over the continued detention of prominent Saudi Islamic scholar Salman Al-Odah, who remains held in prolonged solitary confinement under harsh and degrading conditions that amount to ill-treatment and, potentially, torture.
According to the latest information provided by his son, academic and human rights advocate Abdullah Al-Odah, Sheikh Salman Al-Odah is currently suffering from extreme cold inside his solitary cell at Al-Ha’ir Prison. Prison authorities have reportedly denied him access to adequate clothing to protect him from the freezing temperatures, while continuing to withhold proper medical care. This deliberate deprivation poses a serious risk to his health and physical integrity and reflects a pattern of intentional neglect.
Sheikh Al-Odah has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest in September 2017, now exceeding seven and a half years of near-total isolation. Over this period, credible reports have documented a significant deterioration in his health, including severe impairment of vision in one eye, reportedly approaching complete loss of sight, without appropriate medical intervention by prison authorities.
Together for Justice strongly condemns the Saudi authorities’ decision to prevent Claudia Mahler, the United Nations Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, from visiting Sheikh Al-Odah in detention, despite formal requests and mounting concerns regarding his health. This refusal constitutes a blatant violation of Saudi Arabia’s obligations to cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms and raises serious concerns about deliberate efforts to conceal conditions of detention from international scrutiny.
Since 2017, Sheikh Al-Odah has been denied regular contact with his family and legal counsel and has not been brought before an independent and competent court. His case has remained effectively frozen since the last court session in 2021, leaving him in prolonged legal limbo without a final judgment. At the same time, the Public Prosecution continues to seek the death penalty (ta’zir) against him as part of a broader politically motivated case that has also targeted scholars Awad Al-Qarni and Ali Al-Omari.
The continued detention of Sheikh Al-Odah under these conditions — prolonged solitary confinement, denial of medical care, exposure to extreme cold, and obstruction of international monitoring — constitutes a grave violation of international human rights law. Prolonged solitary confinement, particularly when combined with medical neglect, is widely recognized as a form of torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
These violations further expose the Saudi authorities’ ongoing use of the judiciary as a tool of political repression against independent religious voices, despite official claims of reform and openness. While Saudi Arabia has recently announced limited and selective releases of certain detainees, the continued imprisonment of high-profile figures such as Sheikh Salman Al-Odah fundamentally undermines these narratives.
In light of the above, Together for Justice calls for:
- The immediate and unconditional release of Sheikh Salman Al-Odah;
- An immediate end to his solitary confinement and all forms of ill-treatment;
- Urgent and comprehensive medical care, including protection from extreme cold;
- Full access for UN special procedures and independent international monitors to Saudi detention facilities;
- The dismissal of all politically motivated charges against him and accountability for those responsible for his prolonged abuse.
Together for Justice holds the Saudi authorities fully responsible for the safety, health, and life of Sheikh Salman Al-Odah. The continued silence of the international community can no longer be described as neutrality — it constitutes complicity. Immediate and concrete action is required to prevent further irreversible harm and to uphold fundamental human rights in Saudi Arabia.