Yemeni Journalist Ali Abu Lahoum Completes Five Years Behind Bars in Saudi Arabia Over Tweets

Yemeni journalist Ali Mohsen Abu Lahoum has completed five years behind bars in Saudi Arabia since his arrest on 23 August 2021 outside his home in Najran over tweets attributed to anonymous accounts, which Abu Lahoum denied having any connection to.

In October 2021, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced Abu Lahoum to 15 years in prison over charges related to tweets posted on social media. The sentence was upheld in January 2022.

Abu Lahoum is known for his prominent media career. He previously worked at Yemen Times Radio in Yemen and has served as executive director of Al-Wadi TV in Saudi Arabia since 2015.

SANAD Human Rights Organization states that Abu Lahoum’s continued detention constitutes a serious violation of freedom of opinion and expression. It calls on Saudi authorities to overturn the unjust sentence, release him immediately and unconditionally, and compensate him for the material and moral harm caused by his arbitrary detention.