Waleed abu al-Khair

Extra Bio Info:

Waleed abu al-Khair is imprisoned for his legal work defending religious prisoners of conscience and for criticizing the government.

On April 15, 2014, authorities arrested al-Khair, counsel for Saudi blogger and USCIRF Religious Prisoner of Conscience Raif Badawi, while he was attending the fifth session of his own trial before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC). On November 4, 2013, criminal proceedings against al-Khair began. Authorities had accused al-Khair of several crimes in light of statements he made in the media and on social media criticizing the Saudi government for persecuting peaceful dissidents.  According to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, al-Khair was facing the following charges: "inciting public opinion against the State and its people; undermining the judicial authorities; inciting international organizations against Saudi Arabia with the intent of ruining its reputation; setting up and supervising an unlicensed association (referring to the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia); participating in the creation of another unlicensed organization, namely, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association; and preparing, storing and sending information that prejudiced public order."

From April 15, 2014 to July 6, 2014, al-Khair was reportedly held incommunicado, denied access to a lawyer, forcibly deprived of sleep, and denied required medication.

On July 6, 2014, the SCC sentenced al-Khair to 15 years in prison, imposed a 15 year travel ban following his release, and fined him 200,000 riyals.  According to Human Rights Watch, the court found him guilty on six charges: “seeking to remove legitimate authority;” “harming public order in the state and its officials;” “inflaming public opinion and disparaging and insulting judicial authority;” “publicly slandering the judiciary, distorting the kingdom’s reputation, making international organizations hostile to the kingdom, and issuing unverified statements that harm the kingdom’s reputation and incite against it and alienate it;” “founding an unlicensed organization;” and violating Saudi Arabia’s anti-cybercrime law.  A 2018 UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opinion listed the following charges as part of al-Khair's conviction: "seeking to discredit State legitimacy; abusing public order with respect to the State and its officials; inciting public opinion and insulting the judiciary; publicly defaming the judiciary; inciting international organizations against Saudi Arabia with the intent of ruining its reputation; making statements and documents to harm the reputation of the country; adopting an unauthorized association, being its chairman, speaking on its behalf and issuing statements and communicating through it; and preparing, storing and sending items that would prejudice public order."

According to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal rejected al-Khair's appeal on February 15, 2015. Other sources indicate al-Khair's appeal was rejected in January 2015.

In June 2016, al-Khair went on a five day hunger strike in protest of prison authorities medical neglect and mistreatment of him. Authorities reportedly agreed to some of his demands.

In an opinion published in July 2018, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared al-Khair's detention arbitrary and called for his release.

Throughout his detention, al-Khair has been physically assaulted by prison officials and inmates alike.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) advocates for al-Khair as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.