Continued detention of Israa al-Ghomgham since December 2015

Saudi authorities have continued to detain Israa al-Ghomgham since December 2015 on charges related to freedom of expression.

During her detention, al-Ghomgham has been subjected to torture and enforced disappearance. She also faced the risk of execution after the Saudi public prosecutor called for her execution in August 2018. However, following international pressure, the Saudi authorities withdrew the death penalty, but in 2021, the Saudi judiciary sentenced her to 8 years in prison. As her sentence neared completion, the sentence was increased to 13 years.

Israa al-Ghomgham’s case exemplifies the Saudi authorities’ repression of human rights activists and demonstrates the regime’s readiness to use fabricated charges and suppress freedom of expression to silence its critics. Israa al-Ghomgham remains detained to this day, and SANAD Organisation for Human Rights calls for her immediate release and that of all other prisoners of conscience.