Release of Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mahmoud After More Than Five Years of Arbitrary Detention

According to human rights and media sources, Saudi authorities have released Saudi academic and preacher Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mahmoud after he spent over five years in prison due to his opinions and stances.

Dr. Al-Mahmoud was first arrested in October 2019 after a video clip of him criticizing corruption in Saudi Arabia went viral. Although he was released two months later, he was re-arrested in September 2021. In September 2022, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

His arrest and the violations he endured during his detention are part of a broader policy of repression practiced by Saudi authorities against scholars, preachers, and opinion leaders — a systematic approach aimed at silencing independent and critical voices.

In this context, Sanad Human Rights Organization congratulates Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mahmoud and his family on his release, considering it a positive step that should have happened years ago. However, Sanad affirms that this release does not absolve the Saudi authorities of their full responsibility for all the violations Dr. Al-Mahmoud suffered, including arbitrary detention, unfair sentencing, and unlawful detention conditions.

Sanad calls on the Saudi government to immediately lift all restrictions imposed on Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mahmoud, including the travel ban, to guarantee all his human and civil rights, and to cease any form of harassment he might face in the future, in accordance with domestic laws and international human rights standards.