September 2017 Crackdown

Case Status: Detained without trial
Date of Arrest: September 10, 2017
Charges: 37 charges, including “calling for change in the Saudi government” and “objecting to the boycott of Qatar,” and “inciting people against the ruler.”
Violations: Medical Negligence; Sleep Deprivation; Prolonged Solitary Confinement;
Incommunicado Detention; Family Members Targeted.
Latest update: (October 30, 2019) The judges in al-Odah’s trial request a final defense from al-Odah and indicate that a verdict in the case will be reached in a matter of weeks. However, his trial has been repeatedly postponed since then.

Salman al-Odah is a well-known reformist scholar, human rights advocate, and the father of Abdullah Alaoudh, a US-based activist. Al-Odah was previously arrested for his criticism of the Saudi government and held without trial between 1994-1999. In June 2017, al-Odah was banned from travel. Three months later, on September 10, 2017, he was detained. His arrest came one day after he tweeted calling for mending relations in reference to the blockade of Qatar. During the first session of his trial before a terrorism court in 2018,prosecutors called for the death penalty on 37 charges related to his peaceful activism and scholarship. Since then, his trial has been repeatedly postponed.

Case Status: Detained inside al-Ha’ir prison without trial

Date of Arrest: September 11, 2017

Charges: 14, including “insulting” the Kingdom’s rulers, inciting protests in Bahrain, “calling into question the fundamentals of Islam,” and “holding numerous television interviews with foreign newspapers and channels ‘hostile’ to the Kingdom”

Violations: Travel Ban; Threats of Death Penalty; Prolonged Pretrial Detention; Restricted Access to Legal Counsel; Secret Trials; Family Members Targeted.

Latest update: (January 31, 2022) Al-Maliki’s trial was again postponed, according to ALQST for Human Rights. The next session in his trial has yet to be scheduled.

Hassan Al-Maliki is an Islamic scholar and human rights advocate in Saudi Arabia who is well-known for his moderate views and criticism of sectarianism and religious extremism. Al-Maliki was previously arrested on October 17, 2014; he was released in 2015 and placed under travel ban. In July 2017, al-Maliki was sentenced to three months in prison and a fine of $13,500. His Twitter account was also shut down. Two months later, on September 11, 2017, he was rearrested in a sweeping crackdown targeting other scholars, journalists, and activists.  His son, Alabbas al-Maliki, was arrested shortly thereafter after he tweeted about his father’s arrest. In 2018, al-Maliki was brought before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) and charged with 14 crimes. Prosecutors have called for al-Maliki to be executed, though his trial continues to be postponed.

Case Status: Serving 15-year sentence
Date of Arrest: September 12, 2017
Charges: 13; including “Describing the State as tyrannical”, “Seeking to stir up sedition in the Kingdom through his Twitter account,” and “seeking to undermine the social fabric of the nation.”
Violations: Arbitrary arrest/detention; Solitary Confinement and Harsh Treatment
Latest update: (October 6, 2020) Essam Al-Zamel was sentenced to 15 years in prison

Essam al-Zamel is a prominent businessman, economist, and writer in Saudi Arabia. Al-Zamel was detained during the September 2017 crackdown targeting dozens of writers, scholars, and activists. Al-Zamel supported human rights and openly criticized plans to sell government shares of Saudi Aramco. He was arrested on September 12, 2017 upon his return from the US, where he traveled with an official Saudi delegation. In 2018, al-Zamel was brought before Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court and charged with 13 crimes. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Case Status: Detained in Dhahban Central Prison, Jeddah
Date of Arrest: September 25, 2017
Charges: Unknown
Violations: Arbitrary Detention; Denied Access to Legal Counsel; Ill-Treatment, including Medical Negligence.
Latest update: (June 2022) Jamil Farsi’s five-year sentence was increased to seven years.

Jamil Farsi is an outspoken journalist, businessman, and economist in Saudi Arabia. Farsi was detained in September 2017 during a wave of arrests targeting religious figures, writers, and activists. He was targeted for speaking openly about the need for economic reform and criticizing proposals to sell a percent of the government’s share in Saudi Aramco. In 2020, Farsi was sentenced by Saudi Arabia’s notorious Specialized Criminal Court to five years in prison, which was reportedly increased to seven years in 2022. He has been denied access to legal counsel and prevented from receiving proper medical care, causing his health to deteriorate. 

Case Status: Detention without trial

Date of Arrest: September 2017

Charges: Unknown

Violations: Arbitrary Detention

Latest update: No current update

Khaled al-Alkami is a prominent journalist and writer who has been detained since September 2017, when he was swept up in a wave of arrests targeting religious figures, writers, and activists. Al-Alkami enjoyed a large following on Twitter and spoke out about corruption and religious extremism. Shortly before his arrest, al-Alkami indicated on Twitter that he hoped for a resolution to the Qatar blockade, in addition to posting about the arrest of Salman al-Odah and Awad al-Qarni. The charges against al-Alkami and his place of detention remain unknown.