Saudi Court Issues a New 25-Year Sentence Against Human Rights Lawyer Mohammed Al-Bajadi Despite His Previous Sentence Expiring Two Years Ago

Together for Justice strongly condemns the shocking decision by the Specialised Criminal Court in Saudi Arabia to issue a new 25-year prison sentence against prominent human rights lawyer Mohammed Al-Bajadi, one of the founders of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), despite his previous sentence having expired in 2023.

This new ruling, handed down today, marks a grave escalation in the ongoing persecution of peaceful reform advocates in Saudi Arabia. For two years after completing his initial sentence, Al-Bajadi was held arbitrarily and unlawfully in detention without release — only to be retried and sentenced again on fabricated charges. This verdict exposes the Saudi regime’s blatant disregard for justice and its determination to keep human rights defenders behind bars indefinitely through recycled trials and political retaliation.

Al-Bajadi’s persecution began long before this new ruling. He was first arrested in May 2018, when agents of the Saudi State Security raided his home at night without a warrant, forcibly disappeared him, and subjected him to torture and prolonged solitary confinement. This was not his first experience with state repression; in 2011, he had already been detained during a sweeping crackdown on ACPRA members, who were among the earliest voices calling for political reform, transparency, and the rule of law in the Kingdom.

Today’s 25-year sentence is a continuation of the same pattern of judicial abuse and vengeance that has characterised the Saudi regime’s treatment of independent voices for over a decade. Instead of releasing Al-Bajadi after serving his sentence, authorities deliberately kept him in detention, denying him the most basic rights guaranteed under both Saudi law and international conventions — including the right to liberty, due process, and protection from arbitrary punishment.

The decision to re-try Al-Bajadi and impose such a harsh sentence is not a legal act but a political message: a warning to every activist, lawyer, or reform advocate that no one is safe from state reprisal. It reflects a judiciary that functions not as an independent institution but as a weapon in the regime’s arsenal to silence dissent and crush civil society.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has previously expressed deep concern over Al-Bajadi’s continued detention, describing it as a deliberate act of intimidation and a violation of international law. The latest ruling only reinforces those concerns and demonstrates the Saudi regime’s continued defiance of international human rights norms.

Together for Justice affirms that this new 25-year sentence represents a complete mockery of justice and further exposes the falsity of Saudi Arabia’s claims of reform and modernisation. A country that re-imprisons those who have already served their terms cannot speak of reform — it is perpetuating repression under a new guise.

The organisation holds the Saudi authorities fully responsible for Mohammed Al-Bajadi’s safety and well-being and calls for his immediate and unconditional release, the annulment of the latest ruling, and a transparent international investigation into the violations he has endured since his first arrest.

Together for Justice also urges the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and the European Union to take concrete and urgent measures to halt Saudi Arabia’s escalating campaign of judicial persecution against peaceful activists, to hold the perpetrators accountable, and to ensure that the principles of justice and human dignity are upheld.