The Saudi Regime’s Criminalisation of Academic Thought: Together for Justice Demands the Immediate Release of Sheikh Dr Rashid Al-Almaei
Together for Justice expresses its deep concern over the continued arbitrary detention of Sheikh Dr. Rashid bin Hassan Al-Almaei, who remains imprisoned under an unjust and politically motivated sentence that reflects the Saudi regime’s growing hostility towards independent thought and peaceful expression.
Dr. Al-Almaei was arrested on 8 July 2021, and subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison followed by a nine-year travel ban. The charges brought against him were based solely on his participation in a legally permitted seminar in 2013 titled “Freedom: Between Rhetoric and Reality”, held at the private residence of Dr. Awad Al-Qarni, and his possession of a religious book, “Min Huda Al-Islam: Contemporary Fatwas”, a widely circulated scholarly text.
Such a case represents a flagrant abuse of the legal system to punish a peaceful religious scholar for academic engagement and lawful possession of written material. These actions are emblematic of a broader policy in Saudi Arabia to silence independent religious figures, intellectuals, and advocates of reform through vague legal charges and retroactive justifications.
Dr. Al-Almaei’s trial lacked the minimum standards of fairness and transparency. No credible evidence was presented to support the notion that either the seminar or the book posed any threat to national security. Instead, the prosecution appeared to rely solely on the premise that independent discourse itself constitutes a criminal act—a premise that is fundamentally incompatible with international human rights law.
The Saudi regime’s continued detention of Dr. Al-Almaei illustrates the extent to which the judiciary has been weaponised to target scholars and suppress diversity of thought. This practice stands in direct contradiction to the regime’s public claims of social and legal reform.
Together for Justice affirms that Dr. Al-Almaei’s imprisonment constitutes a gross miscarriage of justice and calls on the international community to take a clear stance against such politically charged prosecutions.
We therefore call for:
- The immediate and unconditional release of Sheikh Dr. Rashid Al-Almaei and the annulment of all charges and penalties issued against him.
- An end to the use of retroactive charges and politicised trials to criminalise past peaceful activity.
- International pressure on Saudi authorities from UN bodies, democratic governments, and human rights organisations to ensure Dr. Al-Almaei’s release and to hold those responsible for his persecution accountable.
The continued imprisonment of Dr. Al-Almaei sends a dangerous message to scholars, thinkers, and citizens across Saudi Arabia: that participation in permitted academic spaces and the possession of religious literature may result in years behind bars. This is not justice—it is repression.
