On the Fourth Anniversary of His Arrest: Teacher Mohammed Kadwan—Four Years Behind Bars for Attending a Licensed Seminar

This week marks four years since the arrest of retired teacher Mohammed Kadwan, who was detained by Saudi authorities on July 7, 2021, solely for attending a licensed seminar held over nine years earlier at the home of Dr. Awad Al-Qarni. The seminar, titled “Freedom: Between Slogan and Reality”, was delivered by Dr. Saud Al-Funaisan and publicly broadcast at the time. Kadwan was also targeted for delivering a short religious address in one of Abha’s mosques.

The Public Prosecution accused Kadwan of “supporting extremist ideology,” “harboring those who promote it,” “seeking to destabilize the state,” and “insulting religious scholars”—based on what it described as a “certified confession.” However, it was later revealed that the so-called confession contained only basic personal and biographical information, with no admissions or evidence supporting the charges.

Despite this, prosecutors demanded the maximum penalty under Articles 55 and 34 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, in addition to a harsh discretionary punishment and a travel ban under Article 53 of the same law.

Case details show that the seminar Kadwan attended was fully licensed and publicly advertised, and its speaker held the official position of Dean of the College of Sharia at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University—clearly negating any claims that it was secret or prohibited.

In his defense, Kadwan denied any involvement in extremist activity and confirmed that he had ceased all public engagement years earlier. He noted that the mosque address he gave was already reviewed by authorities at the time, and he had complied with a ban on preaching since then.

In addition to being sentenced to 20 years in prison and a travel ban, Kadwan was terminated from his job at a charitable organization in Rijal Alma‘a and had his salary cut, leaving his two wives and several children with no source of income.

SANAD Human Rights Organization renews its call for the immediate release of Mohammed Kadwan, and urges a fair and thorough review of his case in line with basic rights and freedoms, particularly freedom of expression. The organization also demands an end to the use of vague charges and the politicization of security laws in the prosecution of peaceful individuals.