The continued detention of the writer Dr. Sunhat Al-Otaibi

On September 25, 2017, the Saudi authorities arrested the advisor and writer for the Riyadh newspaper, Dr. Sunhat Al-Otaibi, for peacefully expressing his opinion.

In addition to arbitrary arrest and terrorizing his family, Al-Otaibi has faced numerous violations in prison, including restrictions on communicating with his family and enforced disappearance. The Saudi judiciary also increased his sentence from 4 years to 8 years without any legal reasons.

SANAD Organisation for Human Rights strongly condemns the human rights violations experienced by writer Dr. Sunhat Al-Otaibi and demands that the Saudi authorities immediately release Al-Otaibi and drop all charges against him. Furthermore, SANAD Organisation calls on the international community to pressure the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to respect human rights and stop suppressing freedom of expression and opinion.