The Saudi authorities continue to adjourn the trial of prisoners of conscience and fails to adhere to fair trial procedures.
Abdullah Alaoudh, son of the detained Saudi academic, Salman Al-Ouda, announced that the Specialized Court postponed his father’s trial session once again, as they did not bring him to court.
On Tuesday, July 6, 2021, Abdullah wrote a tweet saying “The farcical trial of my father, Salman Al-Ouda, was adjourned in a clear violation of the simplest justice procedures. This has been happenging for three years”, he added.
“They did not bring my father to the session, and the family have not checked on him for a long time, and phone calls were cut off a year ago.”
The Saudi academic and preacher Salman Al-Ouda was arrested in September 2017, during a campaign of arrests against a large number of activists, intellectuals, and academics. The Saudi Public Prosecution leveled a number of charges against Al-Ouda, most notably “spreading corruption and attempting to change the regime,” and demanded his execution.
Months ago, Abdullah Al-Ouda announced that his father “has lost almost half of his hearing and half of his sight,” according to the prison doctor, and that they “still want to harm him”, noting that he is being “abused, tortured, pressured and denied treatment.”
Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK held the Saudi authorities responsible for the serious health deteriorations of Al-Ouda, 63, as a result of deliberate medical negligence and for imprisoning him for many years in solitary confinement, in violation of all international laws.
In a statement, AOHR UK stressed that Al-Ouda and many other detainees who have been arrested for their political views are subject to farcical politicized trials on fabricated charges.
AOHR UK called on all activists, writers, journalists, human rights defenders, and human rights organisations to put pressure on the Saudi authorities to immediately release all prisoners of conscience, especially those who suffer from serious health conditions.
