Over 70 Years Old… Fourth Anniversary of Dr. Abdullah Al-Yahya’s Arrest Over Tweets

These days mark the fourth anniversary of the arrest of prominent academic Dr. Abdullah Al-Yahya by Saudi authorities on 24 December 2021, amid a complete lack of information about his detention conditions or the course of his legal proceedings. His arrest came over tweets he posted on X (formerly Twitter) in which he criticized normalization with Israel.

Dr. Al-Yahya was born in Buraidah in 1952 and earned both his Master’s and PhD degrees from the University of the Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan. He is regarded as a respected academic figure in Saudi Arabia. Despite his scholarly standing and advanced age, he has remained imprisoned for four years.

SANAD Human Rights Organization renews its call on Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Abdullah Al-Yahya, along with all prisoners of conscience detained for peacefully expressing their views, stressing the need to respect fundamental rights and freedoms and to guarantee citizens’ right to freedom of opinion and expression, free from repression and intimidation.