Additional Name(s): Hasan Farhan Hasan Al Zaghli Al Khaledi Al Malki, حسن المالكي, حسن فرحان حسن الزغلي الخالدي المالكي

Gender: Male

Current Location: Ha’ir Prison, South of Riyadh

Perpetrator: Saudi Arabia

Ethnic Group: Arab

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: September/11/2017

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Criticizing Religious Freedom Conditions Online Activity Religious Belief Religious Expression Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role

Nature of Charges: Illicit Financing Incitement to Commit Crime & Violence Insulting Public Officials & Institutions Miscellaneous Religious Crimes Terrorism Treason & Sedition

Hassan Farhan al-Maliki

Extra Bio Info:

Hassan Farhan al-Maliki is detained for peacefully expressing religious opinions and criticizing extremism.

On September 11, 2017, authorities arrested al-Maliki, an Islamic scholar and intellectual figure, amid a wave of arrests of scholars, intellectuals, and activists.

In October 2018, al-Maliki appeared before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) and was formally charged with 14 crimes.  The wide-ranging allegations included calling into question the fundamentals of Islam, receiving money from foreign terrorist organizations, giving interviews to hostile media outlets, incitement to demonstrations and sit-ins in Bahrain, insulting the country's rulers and Council of Senior Clerics, supporting Hezbollah and the Houthis, seeking to destabilize the social fabric and national harmony, and more.

According to Human Rights Watch, evidence supposedly proving al-Maliki’s guilt used by prosecutors included an alleged confession of him saying that “it is the right of any person to adopt beliefs that he sees as correct, and it is not permitted to restrict these [beliefs] or impose certain beliefs.”  He also allegedly admitted to saying that “those [clerics] who ban singing or music in all its forms are extremists, as there is no evidence for banning it and that the prophet [peace be upon him] listened to it.”

Several of al-Maliki’s legal rights have been violated during the judicial process, and prosecutors are reportedly pushing for him to be executed.

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