In September 2017, Saudi authorities launched one of the biggest mass arrests against religious scholars, political activists, journalists, academic scholars, and online activists. Dissidents from all backgrounds who showed the slightest criticism of the state’s directives were targeted in this mass wave of arrests. Among them were moderate, Islamic reformist scholars, such as prominent clerics Dr. Salman Al-Oudah, Dr. Awadh Al-Qarni, Hassan Farhan Al-Maliki and Abdullah Al-Maliki. They remain in prison to this day, despite a recent public groundswell of support. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) calls on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally free all those arrested in violation of their right to freedom of expression.

Authorities claimed that their arrests were based on their affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, classified by the state as a terrorist group, as well as their possession of banned books, and for defending members of human rights groups, such as the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) among other trumped-up charges.

Also, an official source claimed that Dr. Al-Oudah was arrested for posting a tweet in which he prayed for reconciliation by the leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia amid the political rifts between the two countries. There were also about 33 journalists among the detainees, who were arrested between September and November of 2017, notably Essam Al-Zamil, Ali Al-Amri, Tarrad Al-Amri, Jamil Farsi and Zuhair Kutbi.

These arrests coincided with the state-orchestrated killing and dismemberment of prominent Saudi journalist and editor-in-chief Jamal Khashoggi on 02 October 2018 in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. It is important to note that it was not the end of prosecution and targeting of popular dissent in Saudi Arabia, but rather the beginning of a more active crackdown, despite the wide international backlash after Khashoggi’s killing.

This month, a hashtag released on the X platform was trending in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to demand the release of September 2017 detainees, seven years after their arrests. Most of whom, along with others whose arrests were never made known, remained arbitrarily imprisoned, without clear access to fair or timely trials, and in dire conditions of mistreatment, medical neglect and arbitrary deprivation of rights, legal representations, and family interaction.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) urges the Saudi authorities:

1. Respect the rights of citizens to express their opinions and to peacefully debate public affairs without fear of reprisal;
2. End the prosecution and unlawful detention and mistreatment of September 2017 detainees;
3. Promote an environment where public discourse about state policies is respected and valued in accordance with the state’s international and legal commitments; and
4. Establish a mechanism of transparent inquiry and investigation of the mass arrests of September 2017 detainees and ensure their access to fair and open trials.