The Case of Sarah and Omar Aljabri: A Model of Arbitrary Detention and Government Blackmail in Saudi Arabia
For over five years, siblings Sarah Aljabri (25) and Omar Aljabri (27) have endured severe suffering behind bars since their arrest on March 16, 2020. Their arbitrary detention came as a retaliatory measure against their father, former Saudi security official Saad Aljabri.
The arrest was carried out violently, as Saudi security forces surrounded the family’s Riyadh home with dozens of vehicles and plainclothes officers. The house was raided, belongings and devices confiscated, and Sarah and Omar were taken to an undisclosed location, subjected to prolonged enforced disappearance before later being transferred to Al-Malaz and Al-Ha’ir prisons.
During detention, both faced systematic abuses: denial of family contact, being barred from appointing legal counsel, and enduring psychological torture and harsh treatment. Human rights sources reported that Omar was coerced into recording video confessions, while Sarah suffered long periods of isolation and psychological abuse.
In September 2020, the siblings were brought before the Specialized Criminal Court in a secret trial lacking the most basic standards of justice. Their family and independent observers were barred from attending, and they were denied the right to defend themselves. Sarah was sentenced to six and a half years in prison plus a travel ban of equal length, while Omar was sentenced to nine years in prison followed by a nine-year travel ban.
The case of Sarah and Omar Aljabri stands as a clear example of the blackmail tactics Saudi authorities use against dissidents abroad by targeting their families at home. This pattern extends beyond the Aljabri family: the Zahrani brothers, Ahmed and Abdulmajid, were arrested to pressure their activist brother Omar Alzahrani; the family of Abdullah Al-Ghamdi faced the arrests of his mother Aida Al-Ghamdi and brother Adel; and the family of Dr. Saeed Al-Ghamdi saw his brothers Mohammed and Asaad arrested, with Asaad later released but Mohammed still imprisoned.
