The Saudi authorities continue to detain Egyptian doctor Sabry Shalaby on fabricated charges since 2020

The Saudi authorities have been holding Egyptian doctor Sabry Shalaby in detention since January 2020 on the basis of malicious and fabricated charges. These charges came as retaliation from the Saudi Ministry of Health after he won a legal case against them to recover financial entitlements they had defrauded him of.

The Specialized Criminal Court sentenced Shalaby to 20 years in prison, which was later reduced to 10 years after his lawyer successfully appealed the case.

It is noteworthy that Shalaby worked for the Ministry of Health, and after 10 years, he discovered that he was listed under a lower job title than what he had been contracted for. This prompted him to file a lawsuit against the ministry in 2017. Two years later, a court ruled to adjust his salary and pay him retroactively from the date of his contract. This angered the Ministry of Health, which appealed the decision, unexpectedly dismissed him from his job, and issued final exit visas for him and his family to leave the country.

Later, police officers came to his home, confiscated some of his belongings, and then arrested him. Shalaby has been subjected to physical and psychological abuse, including nine months of solitary confinement, which resulted in cataracts in his eye due to prolonged darkness. He also suffers from severe back pain, asthma, and diabetes due to deliberate medical neglect by the prison administration. Despite his requests for treatment at his own expense, the Saudi authorities refused to allow his treatment.