The Saudi authorities continue to subject Dr. Mohamed Fahd Al-Qahtani to enforced disappearance for the 53rd day, despite the end of his 10-year sentence in November 22.
Al-Qahtani’s disappearance came after he filed a complaint to the prison administration on the harassment and violations taking place inside his wing.
Last May, Al-Qahtani was subjected to an assault during his sleep by a mental patient detained with him, which poses a threat to his life.
The wife of Al-Qahtani, who is imprisoned in Saudi prisons, made a distress call to reveal the whereabouts of her disappeared husband.
Maha Al-Qahtani shared a tweet saying: “I plead to anyone who has information about my husband, Mohamed Al-Qahtani, to contact us.”
She added, “we are very concerned over his safety as we lost contact with him, and officials never respond to our calls or messages.”
Dr. Mohamed Fahd Al-Qahtani is a former professor of economics at the Institute of Diplomatic Affairs at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and one of the founding members of the ACPRA for Civil and Political Rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi authorities arrested Al-Qahtani in 2012 over his human rights activities. In March 2013, the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, with a travel ban for another years over charges of participating in the establishment of an unlicensed civil association (HASM), criticising the state’s policy and economic affairs, inciting public opinion, and describing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a police state.
It should be noted that the Saudi authorities obscure the conditions of many detainees, while news leaks confirm the deterioration of the health of many of them, their torture and ill-treatment.
