According to information and documents received by Sanad, Mohammed Al-Ghamdi is facing new violations and deliberate medical neglect inside prison

New information obtained by SANAD organisation reveals that Saudi authorities continue to subject detainee Mohammed Al-Ghamdi to further violations. He was transported—shackled—to Riyadh, supposedly to be presented before a different judge and retried. However, after spending several weeks in Al-Ha’ir Prison in Riyadh, no progress was made, he was not presented to any judge, and no trial took place. He was then returned to Dhahban Prison in Jeddah.

Saudi authorities did not stop at failing to present him to a judge and transporting him between Riyadh and Jeddah while shackled despite his deteriorating health condition. They also deliberately neglected his medical needs in Dhahban Prison. This neglect resulted in him suffering a seizure that caused him to faint and break a tooth. Despite his repeated requests to see a specialist due to his worsening health condition, the authorities refused. After persistent demands, and upon reaching a critical stage of pain, he was finally seen by a general practitioner in the prison who lacked the necessary expertise to handle his condition. The prison administration continued to refuse access to a specialist. Due to this ongoing medical neglect, Al-Ghamdi remains in poor health and suffers from continuous pain.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed, in an interview with Fox News, his embarrassment over the death sentence issued against teacher Mohammed Al-Ghamdi for a tweet on Twitter, as he described it. Bin Salman assured that he would reconsider the case, pointing out his lack of confidence in the fairness of the judgment due to flawed laws, expressing hope that a more experienced judge would handle the retrial. The Specialized Criminal Court had issued a death sentence against Al-Ghamdi in mid-last year over a few tweets on an X platform account followed by only nine people.

Dr. Saeed Al-Ghamdi, who resides in London, confirmed that his brother is continuously subjected to violations, deliberate medical neglect inside prison, and ill-treatment by the prison administration.

SANAD Organisation for Human Rights condemns these repeated violations and inhumane practices and calls on the Saudi authorities to respect human rights, release him immediately, allow him to appeal the unjust verdict while out of detention, ensure a fair trial for Al-Ghamdi, and provide necessary medical care without delay.