Saudi authorities must reveal the fate of Hamza Al-Salem

More than five months have passed since the Saudi economist Hamza Al-Salem was arrested and taken to an unknown destination last November. Since November 12, 2020, his twitter account stopped publishing anything.

 The Saudi authorities are still procrastinating in admitting his arrest or presenting him before any judicial authority, to keep him under enforced disappearance in an environment known for the ill- treatment of opponents and critics, especially those whose opinions collide with those of Prince Mohamed bin Salman, as Al-Salem had opposing ideas to Vision 2030 of the Crown Prince in terms of economic and financial planning.

Hamza Al-Salem, a former university professor at Prince Sultan University, has long experience in the economic field by virtue of his specialization in the field since he obtained his doctorate from the United States of America.

His arbitrary arrest was not the first violation against Al-Salem by the regime which banned him from traveling for the four years preceding his disappearance, however he still held onto his right to freedom of expressing his views completely peacefully, which was the reason behind his arrest and disappearance until today.

Together for Justice joins the voices of all human rights defenders and activists, calling on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Hamza Al-Salem, grant him all his rights and hold accountable any official who has mistreated him or inflicted harm on him.

The organization also calls on the various United Nations mechanisms to intervene urgently to ensure the release of Al-Salem and all prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia, and calls for the formation of fact finding committees to reveal the detention conditions of detainees and determine the extent to which they comply with the minimum standards for detention and treatment of prisoners.

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