The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) welcomes the release of several human rights activists in Saudi Arabia after years of imprisonment. The activists were advocating for human rights reforms in support of imprisoned men and women activists or to document violations and abuses online. Those activists were charged based on articles of the anti-terrorism law and cybercrime law. They were subjected to enforced disappearance for months, lack of legal representation during interrogation, and secret trials. Many have also experienced deterioration of their health conditions during their imprisonment. It is noteworthy that the X accounts of most of those released were deleted, probably in response to threats from the State Security Presidency.

Among the names of those released is online activist Dr. Lina Al-Sharif, a physician and advocate for women’s rights, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and freedom for prisoners of consciousness. Dr. Al-Sharif was arrested by security forces who raided her home in Riyadh in late May 2021. She was reportedly denied access to healthcare. She was released in May 2025, after four years of imprisonment.

Online Activist Yasmine Al-Ghufaili was also released in May 2025, after being arrested on 17 May 2021. Her arrest was linked to her activity and opinions supporting political prisoners online. Also, among those released is online activist Loujain Al-Bouq, who was arrested on 20 May 2019. She has been released on 03 April 2025, after six years of arbitrary arrest and detention, where she was kept for months without access to family visits. Her account on X is not active any more.

On 04 May 2025, Fadel Al-Manasef, a human rights defender, blogger and founding member of Al-Adalah Center for Human Rights, was released after serving a sentence of 14 years in prison for his peaceful and legitimate human rights work.

The defender was arrested on 01 May 2011 and was released on 11 August 2011 after he spent a period in incommunicado detention. He was re-arrested on 02 October 2011, and again spent nearly four months in incommunicado detention and was subjected to physical and psychological torture.

A set of charges were directed against him by the General Prosecutor, including allegedly “participating in the demonstrations, writing articles in e-newspapers and in social networks to harm the state, incite the media outlets and human rights organisations through his communications with them to act against the Saudi government, participating in the setup of a human rights organisation – Al-Adalah Center – active in inciting the public to come out against the guardian.”

Among the evidence the Public Prosecutor relied upon as a basis for bringing these charges was “producing, storing and disseminating material that would harm public order and public morals.”

In March 2025, online activist Ziyad Al-Sufiyani was released. He is a pediatrician who was actively involved in several social and intellectual projects. Al-Sufiyani founded a book club at his hometown of Taif in 2012 and was an Arabic administrator at Wikipedia until his arrest in 2020. He contributed to the creation and editing of several pages on Wikipedia, including one about women’s rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison by the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh that oversees terrorism cases.

However, many activists remain in prison without access to due process and under deteriorating conditions of imprisonment. Many are still facing death sentences for simply protesting peacefully many years ago.

Among them are the peaceful protestors Mohammad Labbad and Mohammad Al-Faraj. Both were arrested in 2017 on charges related to protesting the discrimination against citizens and participating in funerals of others. They were reportedly subjected to physical and psychological torture and placed in solitary confinements for months. Their trials at the SCC that oversees terrorism-related cases took years after initial verdicts of the death penalty (Ta’zir), according to the discretion of the Judge.

The cases of Labbad and Al-Farraj reached the highest court of appeals, and their death sentences were upheld in March 2024. A few months later, they underwent a retrial, and attended several hearings, until they were sentenced to death again in February 2025. They both remain in Dammam Prison.

Ta’zir is the authority given to an Islamic Sharia Judge to issue corporal punishment for certain offenses which are not specified in Islamic Sharia. They include acts which infringe upon private or public interests though they must comply with the teaching of Islamic Sharia. Protesting is not an offense which warrants penalties under Islamic law.

Several activists and scholars remain imprisoned without any access to information on their cases or conditions. They include online activist Najwa Ahmed Al-Hamid, who was interviewed, probably forcibly while in prison, by a Saudi TV program describing recreational programs at Al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh. She was reportedly arrested in May 2021 on charges related to her online engagement with accounts of suspicious entities, participating in hashtags for unemployment and prisoners of consciousness, and following the accounts of opposition figures abroad.

Also remaining imprisoned is online activist Osama Khalid, a medical doctor and activist in information technology. He founded the computer club in 2013 and worked alongside his colleague, Ziyad Al-Sufyani, on Arabic Wikipedia. He was arrested in 2020, along with Al-Sufyani, and sentenced by the SCC to 32 years in prison. He remains in Al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh.

There are many others who remain imprisoned, including women activists, and at times without sentences for years. Access to information on their cases and their communications with their legal representatives or families remain a challenge. The arbitrary nature of arrests, sentencing, and selective release of some prisoners of consciousness is a hallmark of the Saudi legal system which is still used as a tool to restrict rights and confiscate freedoms.

Recommendations

GCHR calls on the Saudi authorities to:

1. Stop weaponising the anti-terrorism law and the cybercrime law to target people for their opinions on rights and reforms;
2. Immediately and unconditionally end all practices of arbitrary arrests, lengthy imprisonment, torture, and travel bans, against intellectuals, bloggers, and online activists; and
3. Allow for transparent access to cases of activists and open up trials to independent journalists and rights groups.