Eight Years of Arbitrary Detention: Abdulrahim Al-Hawali Remains Behind Bars

Young man Abdulrahim Al-Hawali has spent eight years behind bars since his arrest in July 2018 without any legal justification, apparently solely because he is the son of Dr. Safar Al-Hawali, who was also arrested that year.

The arbitrary arrests extended beyond Abdulrahim and his father to his brothers Abdullah and Abdulrahman, his uncle Saadullah Al-Hawali, and his father’s office manager, Ismail Al-Hassan. They all remain arbitrarily detained.

During his detention, Abdulrahim was subjected to serious abuses, including enforced disappearance, physical torture, and prolonged sleep deprivation, in flagrant violation of international human rights standards.

In February 2020, he was secretly tried before the Specialized Criminal Court and sentenced to six years in prison. The Court of Appeal later increased his sentence to 15 years.

SANAD Human Rights Organization renews its call on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Abdulrahim Al-Hawali and all members of the Al-Hawali family, provide them with adequate redress for the violations they suffered, and release all prisoners of conscience.