The Sudanese journalist Ahmed Abdelkader continues to be detained.

On April 19, 2021, Sudanese journalist Ahmed Abdelkader was arbitrarily arrested by Saudi security forces upon his arrival at King Abdulaziz Airport. He was detained for 20 days at a police station in Jeddah before being transferred to Al-Shumaisi Prison near Mecca.

His arrest was due to his criticism of the policies of the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and his interventions in Sudanese affairs, which he published on his personal Twitter account and in statements to various media outlets.

Human Rights Watch reported that the Jeddah Criminal Court sentenced the Sudanese journalist and media personality Ahmed Abdelkader to four years in prison on June 8, 2021, for tweets and media statements discussing the Sudanese revolution and criticizing Saudi policies in Sudan. Ahmed Abdelkader’s trial included only two short sessions; in the first, charges were read against him and the judge denied him the opportunity to defend himself, while in the second, the judge immediately pronounced the sentence.