Where Is Mishal “Al‑Españi” Al‑Otaibi? Saudi Authorities Remain Silent Over the Content Creator’s Fate

Together for Justice calls on the Saudi authorities to disclose immediately and fully the fate and whereabouts of content creator Mishal Al‑Otaibi, widely known as Mishal “Al‑Españi”, following his prolonged disappearance from public view and reports that he was detained and prohibited from publishing on all his social media platforms.

As of the publication of this report, the Saudi authorities have issued no statement confirming whether Al‑Otaibi is in custody, where he is being held, why he was detained, or whether he has been brought before a judicial authority and granted access to his family and a lawyer.

This official silence has turned the fate of a well-known public figure followed by millions into an unanswered question and raises serious concerns that he may be held in secret or subjected to enforced disappearance.

Who is Mishal Al‑Otaibi?

Mishal Al‑Otaibi is a content creator and actor who became widely known through Snapchat, Instagram and other social media platforms, where he published comic sketches and entertainment content.

His Instagram page has more than 3.4 million followers, while his account on X identifies him as an actor and social media personality. Earlier media reports gave his fuller name as Mishal Hammad Al‑Asadi Al‑Otaibi.

Reports published in 2017 stated that Al‑Otaibi belonged to Saudi Arabia’s stateless or “displaced tribes” community. That year, he publicly appealed to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to grant him Saudi citizenship. His appeal prompted a widely circulated hashtag and renewed public demands for the authorities to resolve the legal status of Al‑Otaibi and others facing similar circumstances. Akhbar Al Aan, Al-Weam.

Al‑Otaibi remained publicly active in the media and entertainment sphere. One of his latest clearly documented public appearances was an interview on Saudi radio station UFM on 1 August 2023, where he was introduced as an influencer and content creator.

Disappearance from public view and reports of detention

After years of visible public activity and regular access to a large audience, Al‑Otaibi disappeared from public view. By June 2025, social media users were openly asking why he had suddenly vanished.

In December 2025, Prisoners of Conscience, a social media account monitoring detention cases in Saudi Arabia, reported that Al‑Otaibi had been detained, prevented from appearing publicly and barred from publishing through all his social media accounts. Subsequent appeals have demanded information about his whereabouts and the reason for his reported detention.

No reliable public information currently establishes the precise date of his alleged arrest, the authority responsible, or the place in which he is reportedly being held. The Saudi authorities have announced neither charges nor court proceedings against him.

The inactivity of his accounts does not, by itself, prove that he has been detained throughout the entire period since his last documented public appearance. However, his prolonged absence, reports of his detention and the complete lack of an official explanation or independently verifiable personal appearance create serious and legitimate concerns for his safety.

Official silence is not due process

If Mishal Al‑Otaibi is in state custody, the Saudi authorities are legally and morally obliged to reveal his whereabouts and the legal basis for depriving him of his liberty. They must allow him immediate access to his family and legal counsel and bring him promptly before an independent judicial authority.

When authorities deprive a person of liberty and subsequently refuse to acknowledge the detention or conceal the person’s fate or whereabouts, the situation contains the elements of enforced disappearance. Such treatment removes the victim from the protection of the law and substantially increases the risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

United Nations experts have previously warned, in relation to other Saudi cases, that detention and disappearance connected to peaceful expression violate fundamental rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the rights to liberty, security, recognition before the law and freedom of opinion and expression.

Part of a wider assault on online expression

The uncertainty surrounding Al‑Otaibi’s fate cannot be separated from the Saudi authorities’ documented practice of prosecuting social media users, subjecting them to unfair trials and imposing extraordinarily harsh prison sentences for peaceful online activity.

Amnesty International documented 15 individuals who received prison sentences ranging from ten to 45 years in 2022 solely for peaceful online activities. The organisation has repeatedly demanded the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained for exercising their right to online expression. Amnesty International, call to free online-expression detainees.

Human Rights Watch has also documented a 20-year sentence imposed over peaceful social media activity and has reported that Saudi authorities continue to imprison and arbitrarily detain people for exercising fundamental rights. Human Rights Watch.

Saudi repression is not confined to prominent political dissidents. If Al‑Otaibi has been detained and silenced, the disappearance of an entertainment content creator sends an intimidating message to millions of internet users: public visibility offers no protection, and the authorities can impose silence without announcing a charge, holding a public trial or even acknowledging that the person is in their custody.

Saudi authorities must answer

The Saudi authorities bear full responsibility for ending the uncertainty surrounding Mishal Al‑Otaibi. They cannot impose secrecy and then use the resulting absence of information as a justification for continued silence.

If they are holding him, they must acknowledge it immediately. If he is not in their custody, they must provide credible information concerning his fate and investigate his disappearance. Continued silence only intensifies fears that a grave and ongoing violation has occurred.

Together for Justice calls on the Saudi authorities to:

• Disclose immediately Mishal Al‑Otaibi’s fate and whereabouts.
• Reveal the date, legal basis and responsible authority for his arrest, if he is detained.
• Grant him immediate, confidential and regular access to his family and a lawyer of his choosing.
• Guarantee adequate medical care and protection from torture and other ill-treatment.
• Release him immediately and unconditionally if he is detained solely for peaceful expression or social media activity.
• Bring him promptly before an independent court if he faces a recognisable criminal charge consistent with international standards.
• End secret detention and enforced disappearance and stop using counterterrorism and cybercrime legislation to suppress peaceful expression.

Every additional day without credible information about Mishal Al‑Otaibi increases the Saudi authorities’ responsibility. What is required is not another rumour or an anonymous reassurance, but clear and direct proof of his safety, whereabouts and legal status.

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