SANAD Reveals the Arbitrary Detention of Saudi Citizen Faris Al-Dalilah for Two Years Over Tweets

SANAD Human Rights Organisation has learned that Saudi citizen Faris Ali Nasser Al-Dalilah (41 years old) has been detained since June 2023. He is currently being held at Dhahban Prison in Jeddah, with no clear information available regarding the conditions of his detention, any formal charges against him, or whether he has been brought before a court.

According to his wife, who lives abroad with their daughter, Al-Dalilah was subjected to enforced disappearance after his arrest. The family only learned of his detention much later, through a phone call he was allowed to make to his older brother. To this day, he has not been permitted to appoint a lawyer, and there is no confirmation that he has appeared before a court.

Despite repeated attempts by his wife to contact him for eight consecutive months, these efforts were repeatedly blocked by the prison administration without any legal justification. His daughter also pleaded with Dhahban Prison authorities to allow her to speak with her father, but her requests were denied. The family was even subjected to unreasonable conditions, such as requiring his wife to appear in person at the prison to arrange calls—an impossible demand given her residence outside Saudi Arabia.

Sources told Sanad that when the family pressed for information about Al-Dalilah’s whereabouts, they were met with explicit warnings that continuing to inquire could “expose them to legal consequences,” a flagrant violation of the rights of detainees’ families. In another troubling development, a Dhahban Prison official informed the family that the prison was not responsible for arranging calls, referring them instead to the State Security Presidency.

SANAD has spoken with multiple sources, including Al-Dalilah’s wife, who believe his detention is related to tweets he posted on his personal account on X (formerly Twitter), in which he demanded certain rights from an official body. Supporting this belief is the fact that his X account was shut down a few months after his arrest, reportedly seized by the State Security forces.

SANAD views the case of Faris Al-Dalilah as part of a disturbing pattern of arbitrary detentions carried out in the absence of judicial oversight and fundamental legal protections. The organization calls on Saudi authorities to respect Al-Dalilah’s right to communicate with his family, appoint legal counsel, and receive a fair trial if legitimate charges exist. Sanad also condemns the intimidation tactics used against detainees’ families and urges international human rights organizations and the global community to press the Saudi government to comply with its human rights obligations under international law and treaties.