Six Years Since Osama Khalid’s Arrest: Still Serving a 14-Year Prison Sentence

These days mark the sixth anniversary of the arbitrary arrest of writer, translator, programmer, and pediatrician Osama Khalid, who was detained by the Saudi authorities on 2 August 2020 over charges related to his peaceful exercise of freedom of expression. In February 2026, the Saudi Supreme Court upheld a final 14-year prison sentence against him.

Osama Khalid was arrested during the COVID-19 lockdown alongside fellow physician and Arabic Wikipedia editor Ziyad Al-Sufyani, who was later released after years in detention. In 2022, Osama was initially sentenced to five years in prison, but the Court of Appeal increased the sentence to 32 years. In 2023, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling, reducing the sentence to 25 years. It was later reduced again to 14 years in September 2025, a sentence that the Supreme Court upheld in February 2026.

Born on 19 January 1994, Osama was a pediatrician, blogger, and technology activist. He founded a computer club in 2013, helped manage the Medical Cloud platform supporting medical students, and was a prominent contributor to Arabic Wikipedia. He was also active in translation and blogging before all his accounts and platforms were shut down following his arrest. He is currently imprisoned in Al-Ha’ir Prison in Riyadh.

SANAD Human Rights Organization renews its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Osama Khalid, compensation for the harm caused by his arbitrary detention, and the release of all prisoners of conscience. The organization also urges an end to the targeting of writers, translators, and independent voices for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.