On Tuesday, November 22, Saudi academic Dr. Mohamed Fahd Al-Qahtani completed his sentence of 10-year in prison, however, the Saudi authorities subjects him to enforced disappearance for 31 days to date, following filing a complaint with the prison administration on the violations in prison.
Last May, Al-Qahtani was assaulted in his sleep by a psychiatric patient held with him, posing a threat to his life.
Al-Qahtani’s wife had issued a distress call to reveal the whereabouts of her missing husband.
Maha, Al-Qahtani’s wife, shared a tweet saying; “I call on everyone who has any information about my forcibly disappeared husband, Mohamed Al-Qahtani, to let us know.”, adding, “We are very worried since we cannot communicate with him anymore, and none of the officials answer our calls and letters.”
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.
Saudi authorities arrested Al-Qahtani in 2012 for his human rights activism, and in March 2013 the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, with a travel ban for another 10 years.
He was charged with taking part in the establishment of an unlicensed civil society (ACSAM), criticising the state’s policy and its economic affairs, inciting public opinion, and describing the “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” as a police state.
It should be noted that the Saudi authorities are imposing a blackout on the conditions of many detainees, while news leaks confirm the deterioration of the health of many of them, or their being subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
