Saudi Human Rights Activist Held for Third Year Without Legal Basis
The Saudi political activist Nayef Al-Hindas continued to be held for the third year, over his political and human rights activism in defence of women’s rights, without being charged or tried till today.
Al-Hindas was arrested in April 2019 from his family house in Al-Khobar, during a large-scale arrest campaign targeting leading activists, human rights defenders and opponents. He is currently held in the Mabahith prison in Dammam, without charge or trial.
Al-Hindas, born on June 29, 1991, is a Saudi political and human rights activist, writer and translator.
Well-informed sources said that he was accused of incitement against Saudi royals and having links to hostile groups.
Media sources also claimed that he was also accused along with a group of activists, detained in the same period, of having links with the Muslim Brotherhood and working to destabilize the security situation in Saudi Arabia.
While in detention, Al-Hindas has been subjected to harassment, ill-treatment, medical negligence, and prevented from family visits and legal presentation in criminal court.
The continued imprisonment of these activists and writers without any legal basis or a clear charge, rather than practicing their right to freedom of expression, denies the Saudi regime’s reform claims.
We firmly call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Saudi jails and for a clear reform project based on human rights principles. We also call for prosecuting all those responsible for serious violations committed against political detainees and their families.
