The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) reiterates its concerns about the mistreatment of detained human rights defender Dr. Mohammed Fahad Al-Qahtani, who has been forcibly disappeared since October 2022. Dr. Al-Qahtani’s family reported that he went on several hunger strikes to protest abuses in prison and his prolonged arbitrary detention, so there are concerns for his health. 

Prior to his enforced disappearance on 24 October 2022, Dr. Al-Qahtani used to call his family on a daily basis. Later, the family learned that he is being subjected to a new investigation and retrial allegedly for “committing and inciting others to commit a number of criminal offences within the prison.” He remains without access to family visits, calls, or legal representation. They are still unable to determine the basis of his new detention and trial, or even where he is being held.

Dr. Al-Qahtani was first arrested in June 2012 for establishing an unlicenced association and was later released. He was arrested a second time on 09 March 2013, while attending the hearing in which he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment followed by 10 years of travel ban. The sentencing was based on several charges including “planting seeds of sedition”, “Breaking allegiance with the ruler”, “defaming the judiciary”, and “turning international organisations against the Kingdom”. 

Dr. Al-Qahtani was supposed to be released on 22 November 2022. However, prior to his release, he was taken in October 2022 for a new investigation, reportedly possibly transferred to another prison, and was denied any contact with his family since 24 October 2022. The family has been unable to obtain concrete information on his case or confirm his whereabouts until now, almost 22 months later. 

In a heartbreaking tweet, his wife Maha Al-Qahtani played a recording of Dr. Al-Qahtani’s voice in a phone call that was cut off on 30 May 2024. She said, “After a year and 8 months of forced disappearance of my husband Dr. Mohammed Al-Qahtani we do not know anything about him, and when we inquire we do not receive a response. And when we received a call on Thursday, 30 May at 6:30 AM, and we heard overlapping voices, then my husband’s voice said, ‘It’s better for you to release it,’ then he said, ‘Hello, hello,’ and the call was cut off without us speaking to him.” 

On 10 May 2024, Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, wrote on X, “Hearing very disturbing reports that Saudi HRDs Walid Abu Al-Khair, Mohammed Fahad Al-Qahtani and Issa Al-Nukhaifi face increasing ill-treatment in prison & medical neglect despite a sharp deterioration in their health.”

On 04 May 2024, Maha Al-Qahtani posted on X, “We have received worrisome news: lawyer #Waleed_Abulkhair is in a #hunger_strike for several days now, a response to harassment from other prisoners & lack of medical care. As for my husband Dr. #Mohammed_AlQahtani & #Issa_AlNukhaifi had several strikes throughout the year.”

This is not the first time that the family reports hunger strikes in protest of the mistreatment and legal harassment of Dr. Al-Qahtani. He went on hunger strike in 2020 to protest being denied family contact, access to books, and essential medication. He went on another hunger strike in 2021 with 30 other prisoners of conscience in order to protest the harassment and assaults by psychiatric patients who were placed in their cells in Al-Ha’ir Reformatory Prison instead of in psychiatric wards. In addition, they protested that the authorities were denying them family contact, and denying them access to books and newspapers.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a legal opinion (No. 38/2015) in September 2015 declaring that Dr. Al-Qahtani’s detention is arbitrary, and alongside many UN experts called for the immediate release of Dr. Al-Qahtani and other members of his association. 

Dr. Al-Qahtani is a founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) to promote human rights in Saudi Arabia. The association calls for a constitutional monarchy, rule of law, and an end to the torture and targeting of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. The 11 founders of the association were sentenced to lengthy prison terms and one of the founding members, Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid, died from medical neglect while in prison in April 2020. 

Dr. Al-Qahtani is highly regarded and his activism was recognised by several prestigious awards, including the Right Livelihood award in 2018 and the Geuzenpenning (“Beggar Medal”), a Dutch human rights award, in 2020. 

Recommendations

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) calls on the Saudi authorities to:

1. Immediately end the arbitrary detention and mistreatment of Dr. Mohammed Al-Qahtani;
2. While he remains in prison, allow him to call his family and receive family visits and adequate and transparent legal support; and 
3. Respect the right of Saudi people to enjoy freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Photo credit: Maha Al-Qahtani, X