Dr. Yousef Al-Ahmad: Eight Years Behind Bars, Entering His Ninth

Saudi academic Dr. Yousef Al-Ahmad has entered his ninth year in prison after completing eight years of arbitrary detention since his arrest on 12 September 2017. He is currently serving a 13-year sentence, following an initial four-year sentence that was later increased.

This was not his first arrest. In 2011, he was detained from his father’s home in Dammam after publicly criticizing the arrest of women who had participated in a peaceful sit-in outside the Interior Ministry to demand the release of their relatives. He was later released, only to be re-arrested in 2017.

Throughout his current imprisonment, Dr. Al-Ahmad has suffered a series of violations, including prolonged enforced disappearance, denial of family contact, denial of legal representation, extended solitary confinement, and both physical and psychological torture. His trial sessions were held in secret and ended with an initial four-year sentence before it was increased to 13 years, along with a 13-year travel ban upon release.

In addition to these abuses, Dr. Al-Ahmad’s health has sharply deteriorated due to deliberate medical neglect, leaving him with a slipped disc and worsening physical pain without receiving adequate treatment.

Sanad Human Rights Organization condemns Dr. Al-Ahmad’s continued detention into a ninth year despite clear legal violations and denial of his most basic rights. Sanad stresses that his worsening health condition poses a serious risk to his life and calls on Saudi authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally, restore his full rights, and compensate him for years of arbitrary detention and abuse.