The life of Saudi Aid Worker Abdul Rahman Al-Sadhan is in Danger
The family of the Saudi detainee and aid worker, Abdul Rahman Al-Sadhan, revealed that his health had deteriorated significantly amid fears for his life in light of his continued detention by the Saudi authorities, whose places of detention have a very bad reputation.
Abdul Rahman’s sister, Areej, said that an appeal hearing was finally held for her brother on Wednesday, 04 August, which he attended while he was in a state of severe fatigue. She wrote on Twitter that “Abdelrahman seemed very exhausted and in a miserable state, which confirms his detention in harsh and inhumane conditions.
The Saudi authorities have always tried to obstruct the family’s and lawyers’ efforts to appeal the life imprisonment sentence issued against Abdul Rahman, but after strenuous attempts, a session was held on Wednesday, during which Abdul Rahman denied all the charges against him, and his lawyer stressed that there is no material evidence of conviction against him to confirm the allegations of the prosecution.
According to the family, the Saudi regime “completely forbids Abdul Rahman from contacting the family and deprives him of family visits or even his father, who is his legal representative.”
Areej Al-Sadhan pointed out that the US embassy tried to attend the appeal hearing, but the Saudi authorities refused. The authorities insist to further violate Abdul Rahaman’s rights to a fair trial, especially after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh several months ago, following secret sessions that lacked justice, integrity, and transparency.
The Saudi security forces had arrested Abdul Rahman from his workplace in the Saudi Red Crescent on March 12, 2018.
After nearly two years of enforced disappearance and complete interruption of his news, specifically on February 12, 2020, Abdul Rahman was allowed to call his family, telling them he is under arrest and is still alive, then his news was cut off again until February 22, 2021 when he was allowed another call.
On March 3, 2021, he was referred to a secret trial before the Specialized Criminal Court on charges of managing two satirical accounts on Twitter, and on April 5, 2021, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced Al-Sadhan to 20 years in prison, followed by a travel ban for another 20 years.
In this regard, “Together for Justice” organization emphasizes its total rejection of all violations against Abdul Rahman Al-Sadhan since the beginning of his arrest, which should not have happened in the first place.
The organization calls on all human rights organizations, activists, and human rights defenders around the world to help Abdul Rahman and save him from the unknown fate inside Saudi detention centers, by putting pressure on their governments and relevant international bodies to intervene to ensure that Abdul Rahman obtains all his rights and to ensure his unconditional release and the dropping of all charges against him.
