Saudi activist Rakan Al-Asiri completed 50 months in arbitrary detention for expressing his opinion in old tweets against normalisation with the Israeli occupation.
Since the beginning of April 2020, the Saudi authorities have been detaining media activist Rakan Al-Asiri, as part of an illegal arrest campaign against a number of activists in Saudi Arabia.
After the arrest of Al-Asiri, the Saudi authorities imposed restrictions on his family, and prevented him from communicating with his family for several months.
Al-Asiri has been subjected to many violations since his arrest, including being forced to appear on the Saudi Al-Ikhbariya channel as part of the authorities’ attempts to give a false image about its prisons, however, he has not been released, nor tried until today.
It is noteworthy that the Saudi authorities impose a blackout on the conditions of many detainees, while news leaks confirm the health deterioration of many of them, as well as being subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
Al-Asiri’s arrest over these years for expressing his opinion is a clear example of the Saudi authorities’ violation of human rights and freedom of expression, and of the difficult circumstances that activists and human rights defenders face in countries that restrict freedom of expression.
Al-Asiri’s continued detention highlights the need for fundamental human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia, including ensuring citizens’ rights to express their opinions without being subjected to harassment or arrest.
Every person has a right to express his opinion and participate in public dialogue, without fear of arrest or punishment, and all legal system in all countries must respect the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law that guarantee the protection of individuals from arbitrary arrest, torture and cruel or inhuman treatment.
