Saudi human rights defender Dhaifallah Al-Otaibi spent 15 years behind Saudi bars for simply calling for reforms in the Saudi Kingdom.
In detention, Al-Otaibi was subjected to severe torture and deliberate medical negligence. He became unable to move as a result.
Al-Otaibi has been facing a slow death due to the deliberate medical negligence he was subjected to.
The Saudi activist was detained in good health in March 2008. But he started suffering serious health problems while in prison.
He declared hunger strike more than once in protest against his difficult detention condition, most recently was in 2019.
Since Mohamed Bin Salman became the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, citizens have experienced the worst period of repression in their modern history. Authorities have conducted waves of arrests targeting political dissidents, public intellectuals, and human rights activists amid total media blackout over the detention and health conditions.
According to Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. The Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also states that everyone has “the right to liberty and security of person” and “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention.”
