After Two Years and Ten Days of Enforced Disappearance, Dr. Mohammad Al-Qahtani’s Family Receives His First Call

After a two-year and ten-day separation, the family of human rights activist Dr. Mohammad Al-Qahtani received a call from him following his enforced disappearance by Saudi authorities since October 2022, according to his wife, Maha Al-Qahtani, who lives abroad and shared the news on her X account. Dr. Al-Qahtani was scheduled for release in November 2022 after completing his ten-year prison sentence. However, authorities subjected him to enforced disappearance without any legal justification or respect for human rights.

Dr. Mohammad Al-Qahtani, a founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), was arrested in March 2013 and sentenced to ten years in prison due to his peaceful human rights activism. Since then, he has faced numerous abuses in prison, including solitary confinement and mistreatment. In an arbitrary measure, authorities forcibly disappeared him one month before his scheduled release, escalating human rights violations against political detainees.

Sanad Rights Organization strongly condemns the continuation of these violations and calls on Saudi authorities to immediately release Dr. Al-Qahtani, respect human rights, end the practice of enforced disappearance against activists, and adhere to international standards that ensure freedom of expression and criminalize arbitrary detention.