Together for Justice Joins the Campaign to Free Hassan Farhan Al-Maliki
As Saudi Arabia continues to promote a deceptive image of reform and modernization, the grim reality of its human rights violations tells a very different story. One of the most glaring examples is the case of Hassan Farhan Al-Maliki, a respected Saudi thinker and scholar who has been arbitrarily detained since September 2017 and now faces the death penalty simply for expressing peaceful opinions and calling for reform.
Al-Maliki was arrested during a widespread crackdown on intellectuals, scholars, and activists. His “crime” was nothing more than owning books deemed controversial, challenging official religious discourse, and calling for political openness. For over seven years, he has been denied a fair trial, denied legal counsel, and dragged through a judicial process plagued by repeated delays—his hearings have been postponed more than 16 times, a tactic used by Saudi authorities to prolong his suffering.
The charges against Al-Maliki are based on peaceful expression: owning books, criticizing school curricula, and communicating with thinkers abroad. Yet the public prosecutor has demanded the death penalty, in a chilling escalation that reveals the Saudi regime’s commitment to silencing dissent through fear, not justice.
In this context, Together for Justice expresses its full solidarity with Al-Maliki and his family, and officially joins the humanitarian campaign launched by his son, Abu Bakr Hassan Al-Maliki, on the evening of July 15, 2025. This campaign has drawn support from respected scholars, media figures, and intellectuals, and calls for an end to Al-Maliki’s unjust detention and the immediate cancellation of all charges against him.
We urge individuals, organizations, and international bodies to join this call, amplify the campaign, and demand freedom for a man whose only “offense” was thinking critically and speaking truthfully. There can be no real reform in Saudi Arabia until voices like Hassan Farhan Al-Maliki’s are protected—not prosecuted.
