The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) strongly condemns the new 25-year sentence issued against prominent  human rights defender Mohammed Al-Bajadi, who is currently in prison in Saudi Arabia for his human rights activism, including support for women’s rights and political reform.

Al-Bajadi has been imprisoned several times since 2007 for his activism and for co-founding in 2009 the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), which aimed to advocate for political reform in the Kingdom to become a constitutional monarchy, and end political persecution and torture in prisons.

His latest arrest took place on 24 May 2018 during a crackdown on women’s rights defenders. He was sentenced to ten years in prison with a suspension of five years. His sentence was due to expire in April 2023 but he was never released and has been kept in Buraydah Prison.

More than two years after the end of his sentence, while being denied his right to legal representation, he was subjected to a retrial and accordingly, on 27 October 2025, sentenced to a further 25 years in prison.

During his multiple detentions, Al-Bajadi has been reportedly subjected to several violations, including denial of contact with his family or a lawyer, torture and ill-treatment using electrocution, beatings, and solitary confinement for months.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, has drawn attention to the case of prolonged detention of Al-Bajadi and other Saudi activists beyond their initial sentencing. She called on the Saudi authorities to release all the activists who remain in prison.

GCHR has also documented a recent trend of waves of releases of select numbers of human rights activists, including other members of ACPRA. The arbitrary nature of deciding who remains in prison and who is released indicates the subjective policies made by officials without due process. There are also many prominent human rights defenders, scholars, and religious leaders, being detained who faced endless trials.

On 07 August 2025, GCHR called in a joint letter with other NGOs for the immediate release of Al-Bajadi, shortly before his brutal 25-year sentence was issued. This shows the blatant disregard for human rights and international standards and conventions by the authorities in Saudi Arabia.

Recommendations

GCHR calls on Saudi authorities to:

1. Drop all the unfair charges against prominent human rights defender Mohammed Al-Bajadi and other human rights activists who languish in prison, and grant them an unconditional release;
2. Ensure their access to a fair and just legal system that recognises the rights and freedoms of all people to advocate for human rights;
3. Reform the Counterterrorism law that is often used to target human rights defenders and critics of state policies; and
4. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.