In a dangerous precedent, a person was executed in Saudi Arabia due to tweets SANAD organisation reveals details of the execution of Dhafer Al-Shahri

SANAD Human Rights Organisation has obtained exclusive information indicating that Saudi authorities carried out the execution of citizen Dhafer Mohammed Abdullah Al-Shahri on August 24, 2024, due to tweets in which he expressed his opinions. The authorities considered these tweets a threat to national security and stability, and a betrayal of the country, sentencing him to death. The execution was carried out a week after the sentence was issued.

In a statement, the Ministry of Interior indicated that the charges against Al-Shahri included “criminal acts involving treason against the country and engaging in terrorist activities aimed at disrupting societal security and stability.” However, Sanad Human Rights Organization completely rejects these charges, asserting that the execution was solely due to tweets that fall under freedom of expression and do not amount to crimes warranting arrest, let alone execution.

It is worth noting that Dhafer Al-Shahri was detained in the same cell as Mohammed bin Nasser Al-Ghamdi, who also faced a death sentence earlier for a few tweets posted from an anonymous account followed by fewer than ten people, a case previously documented by SANAD organisation.

The execution of Dhafer Al-Shahri over tweets confirms that Saudi Arabia is a repressive state where any semblance of genuine justice is absent. The judiciary is highly politicized to serve the interests of the ruling regime, and laws are used as tools of repression to stifle freedom of expression and peaceful opposition. There is an almost complete absence of justice and transparency standards in trials, with SANAD Human Rights Organisation pointing out that Al-Shahri’s trial was just another example of this ongoing and escalating repression.

SANAD Human Rights Organisation strongly condemns the Saudi authorities’ execution of Dhafer Al-Shahri, emphasizing that the execution represents a dangerous escalation in human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and constitutes a crime against humanity and state terrorism. The organization asserts that the Saudi judiciary has become a tool in the hands of the authorities to implement their political agendas at the expense of justice and human rights.

SANAD Human Rights Organisation also calls on human rights organizations and the international community to urgently intervene to stop these repressive practices and the ongoing human rights violations, and to ensure fair and transparent trials that adhere to international standards.