Saudi Authorities Continue to Detain Malek Al-Duwaish for Demanding the Truth About His Forcibly Disappeared Father

Saudi authorities have continued the arbitrary detention of Malek Al-Duwaish since September 2022, solely for demanding the truth about the fate of his father, prominent cleric Sheikh Suleiman Al-Duwaish, who has been forcibly disappeared since April 2016.

According to human rights sources, a Saudi court initially sentenced Malek to 27 years in prison, before later reducing the sentence to 15 years—without any clear legal basis for such a harsh ruling.

Malek was first arrested in July 2022 and released a month later. However, he was rearrested in September 2022 after a video of him circulated in which he publicly questioned his father’s fate and the reasons behind the family’s years-long inability to see or contact him. He stressed that his father had not been tried or had his whereabouts disclosed, and he pointed out that his father was likely arrested for a 2016 tweet warning of the dangers of spoiling children and avoiding accountability—a message authorities reportedly viewed as a veiled criticism of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Dr. Suleiman Al-Duwaish was arrested in April 2016 in Mecca after posting a series of indirect criticisms of King Salman and his son. Credible information obtained by SANAD Human Rights Organization confirms that he was seized by a special security unit, flown by private aircraft to Riyadh, and brutally tortured inside a royal palace. He has been forcibly disappeared ever since, with no legal proceedings or family visits permitted.

During his latest detention, Malek Al-Duwaish has reportedly been subjected to severe physical and psychological torture, aimed at extracting “confessions” regarding the video in which he demanded answers about his father’s fate. Authorities allegedly administered mind-altering drugs in an attempt to obtain information about Malek’s alleged ties to human rights activists abroad who helped amplify his case. Sources also confirm he was forced to record new coerced statements at the same location where the initial video was filmed, including fabricated claims that his father had called the family from Syria and was in good health—under the false promise of release, which never happened.

SANAD Human Rights Organization strongly condemns the continued detention of Malek Al-Duwaish, and calls for his immediate release and an end to all forms of torture he has been subjected to. SANAD also renews its urgent demand for the Saudi authorities to reveal the fate of Dr. Suleiman Al-Duwaish, ensure a fair and transparent trial if charges exist, or otherwise release him immediately. The suffering of his family, which has lasted for over nine years, must come to an end.