SANAD Human Rights Organization Reveals the Arrest of Ali Abdulkarim and Demands His Immediate Release

According to information obtained by SANAD Organization, Saudi authorities arrested citizen Ali Abdulkarim Khalid Abdullah during last Ramadan, corresponding to March 2024, due to his criticism of the poor conditions faced by orphans in Saudi Arabia. Sources who contacted the organization indicated that Ali Abdulkarim is currently being held in Dhahban Prison in Jeddah, without being brought to trial or officially charged. Sanad has attempted to contact the administration of Dhahban Prison and other authorities, but no response has been received to confirm his presence in Dhahban Prison as of this date.

It is worth mentioning that Dhahban Prison, located north of Jeddah, is a detention center for prisoners of conscience and those accused by the authorities of committing terrorist crimes. Despite Saudi authorities’ assurances of their commitment to human rights standards, previous rights reports have pointed to severe violations faced by detainees in this prison, including torture and mistreatment.

The arrest of Ali Abdulkarim comes within a continuing context of arrests in Saudi Arabia related to freedom of expression and criticism of government policies. Several citizens have been detained due to their tweets and opinions, such as As’ad Al-Ghamdi, Salma Al-Shehab, and Noora Al-Qahtani, as well as cartoonist Mohammed Al-Hazzah, who was arrested for cartoons deemed offensive. Additionally, citizen Dhafir Al-Shahri was executed for criticizing the regime in a social media post.

SANAD Organization expresses its deep concern over the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression and the arbitrary detention of citizens. The organization calls on Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release citizen Ali Abdulkarim and all those detained solely for exercising their right to peaceful expression of their views.