Saudi authorities continue detaining Abdulilah Al-Huwaiti over his opposition to Huwaitat displacement.

Since 2020, Saudi authorities have continued to detain activist Abdulilah Rashid Ibrahim Al-Huwaiti for more than six years due to his opposition to the forced displacement of members of the Huwaitat tribe linked to the NEOM project.

In August 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal sentenced Al-Huwaiti to 50 years in prison, followed by a 50-year travel ban, in one of the harshest sentences imposed on those opposing forced displacement.

Al-Huwaiti is one of dozens of Huwaitat tribe members who have faced arrest and security persecution simply for refusing to leave their homes and lands, amid the absence of legal guarantees or fair trials.

SANAD Human Rights Organization states that the continued detention of Abdulilah Al-Huwaiti constitutes a grave human rights violation and calls for his immediate release, along with all those detained for opposing forced displacement, and an end to all forms of repression against the Huwaitat tribe.