Saudi Arabia Continues to Detain Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Abdullatif Despite His Deteriorating Health and Advanced Age

Saudi authorities continue to arbitrarily detain Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Abdullatif since September 2017, as part of a sweeping crackdown targeting academics, scholars, and activists for peacefully expressing their views.

Despite being over 65 years old and suffering from chronic illnesses that threaten his life, the authorities refuse to release him, in a blatant violation of human rights and international legal standards concerning ill and elderly detainees.

The authorities leveled fabricated political charges against him, including “disobeying the ruler,” “funding terrorism,” and “sympathizing with the Muslim Brotherhood”—charges routinely used by the Saudi regime to criminalize free speech, where even a tweet can be deemed an act of terrorism.

Since his arrest, Dr. Al-Abdullatif has endured a series of serious human rights violations, including: the terrorizing of his family during the raid, enforced disappearance, denial of legal representation, incommunicado detention, and a secret trial lacking the most basic standards of due process.

Initially sentenced to 5 years in prison, the authorities revoked the verdict upon completion of the sentence and re-prosecuted him arbitrarily, resulting in a new 20-year sentence.

SANAD Human Rights Organization strongly condemns this unjust detention and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Abdullatif. The organization holds the Saudi authorities fully responsible for the deterioration of his health and urges the international community to take urgent action to end the ongoing violations against political prisoners in the Kingdom.