International Human Rights Concern After Bulgaria’s Decision to Extradite Saudi Activist Abdulrahman Al-Khaldi

In a concerning development, the Administrative Court in Sofia, Bulgaria, issued a final decision to extradite Saudi activist Abdulrahman Al-Khaldi to Saudi Arabia, disregarding warnings of serious risks to his life and safety if deported.

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, expressed concern over the court’s decision, highlighting that it contradicts Bulgaria’s non-refoulement obligations. Lawlor emphasized that Al-Khaldi should not be returned to Saudi Arabia, as it is an unsafe environment for human rights defenders.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations issued a joint statement urging Bulgarian authorities to halt the deportation of Al-Khaldi, who is currently detained in Bulgaria. They warned of the risk of torture and human rights violations due to his political opposition to the Saudi regime, emphasizing Bulgaria’s duty to uphold international and European law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement. The statement called for Al-Khaldi’s immediate release and a reconsideration of his asylum request, which was rejected despite his application in 2021. The organizations raised concerns about his potential exposure to arbitrary detention and unfair trial in Saudi Arabia.

In this context, the Sanad human rights organization strongly condemns the court’s decision to extradite Al-Khaldi, given clear evidence that deportation would endanger his life and considering Saudi Arabia’s poor record with human rights defenders. Sanad urges Bulgarian authorities to reverse the extradition decision and grant Al-Khaldi asylum without delay.

Al-Khaldi began a hunger strike on July 5, 2024, in protest against his detention and the refusal to grant him asylum, despite a previous ruling by the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court deeming the agency’s rejection unreasonable and without legal basis.

Al-Khaldi, a political activist in Saudi Arabia, fled to Turkey out of fear of arrest. When his passport expired, he was forced to leave Turkey in 2021 and undertook a challenging journey on foot through forests to reach Bulgaria seeking protection in the EU. Despite this, Bulgarian authorities denied his asylum request in May 2023, claiming he failed to prove persecution risks in his home country.