Since 2018, Saudi activist Omar Al-zahrani has been completely cut off from his family, with his two brothers detained and all family members banned from travel.

In a recorded interview, Omar Alzahrani stated that communication with his family has remained severed since 2018, as Saudi authorities continue to enforce travel bans on all family members and detain two of his brothers—despite the family having no political involvement. This appears to be part of a collective punishment policy imposed by the authorities against the relatives of dissidents.

Saudi authorities arrested Ahmed and Abdulmajeed Alzahrani, Omar’s brothers, on August 21, 2018. They were summoned to Dhahban Prison in Jeddah, accompanied by their father, who was told to return home without them hours later. Since that day, both brothers have remained in arbitrary detention.

This retaliatory and coercive policy has also targeted other Saudi dissidents abroad, including Dr. Saeed Al-Ghamdi, whose two brothers were detained—one later released, while the other remains imprisoned after his death sentence was commuted. Authorities also continue to detain Mrs. Aida Al-Ghamdi, mother of dissident Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, along with his brother Adel Al-Ghamdi, since March 2018.

SANAD Human Rights Organization affirms that what the Alzahrani family is enduring constitutes a blatant violation of human rights and a clear example of the pressure and blackmail tactics employed by Saudi authorities against dissidents by targeting their families and depriving them of basic rights.

SANAD renews its call on the Saudi authorities to immediately release Ahmed and Abdulmajeed Alzahrani, lift all arbitrary restrictions imposed on their family, restore their right to communication and freedom of travel, and end all forms of retaliation and coercion against dissidents and human rights defenders.