Waleed Abu al-Khair
detainee
About The Detainee
A lawyer and human rights activist. Waleed is known for his media presence and was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Arabs on Twitter. In 2007 Waleed started his career in the legal field, where he joined the office of lawyer Essam Basrawi. In the same year, Waleed, along with some activists, released a statement entitled ‘Milestones in the Path to the Constitutional Monarchy’, in which they explicitly called on the ruling family in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to change the current system from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. He co-founded the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia which is concerned with the protection of activists and monitoring the human rights situation.
Arrest And Human Rights Violations
Time Line For Arrest
The Specialised Criminal Court sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment
The sentence was increased to 15 years imprisonment
He won the Alternative Nobel Prize whilst in detention
He won the PEN Pinter Prize in recognition of his bravery
He went on hunger strike to protest his ill-treatment
He was hospitalised due to his deteriorating health
improvement in his health upon suspension of his hunger strike
He was arrested