Eight Years Since His Arrest… Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan Remains Forcibly Disappeared

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the arrest of Saudi humanitarian worker Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan, who was detained on 12 March 2018 from his workplace at the Saudi Red Crescent Authority in Riyadh and then forcibly disappeared for nearly two years.

Human rights organizations report that he was arrested by plainclothes security officers without a warrant, and his family spent 23 months searching for information about his whereabouts without receiving any official response.

During detention, Al-Sadhan was subjected to severe abuses, including electric shocks, beatings, suspension from his feet, sleep deprivation, threats, verbal abuse, and prolonged solitary confinement, and he was forced to sign confessions under coercion without a lawyer present.

He was later tried before the Specialized Criminal Court in an unfair trial and sentenced on 5 April 2021 to 20 years in prison followed by a 20-year travel ban. Since then, he has again been forcibly disappeared.

In 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that his detention is arbitrary and violates international human rights law, calling for his immediate release, compensation, and accountability for those responsible.

SANAD Human Rights Organization renews its call for Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan, and at minimum reveal his whereabouts and allow him urgent contact with his family.