The United States (US) has rebuked a Saudi court’s decision to uphold a 20-year prison sentence for Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan, a humanitarian aid worker and critic of the Saudi government.
US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday that Washington is “disappointed” by the decision to convict Al-Sadhan “for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.” He added that the US is closely monitoring the case and expressed concerns over reports that the aid worker had been tortured in custody.
Furthermore, Price said Al-Sadhan has not been able to communicate with his family and that his “fair trial guarantees were not respected.” He added, “We will continue to elevate the role of human rights in our relations with Saudi Arabia and to encourage legal reforms that advance respect for human rights of all individuals.”
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also condemned the “brutal sentencing” of Al-Sadhan and said she was “saddened” by allegations that he was tortured in detention. “Saudi Arabia’s assault on the freedom of expression and pattern of human rights abuses must be condemned by all freedom-loving people,” Pelosi tweeted.
On Wednesday, a Saudi appeals court upheld a 2018 decision to sentence Al-Sadhan to 20 years in prison followed by a 20-year travel ban. Al-Sadhan was detained by Saudi authorities in March 2018 for criticising Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman (MBS) and the country’s economy on Twitter.
According to reports, Al-Sadhan’s identity was revealed to Saudi authorities after Saudi spies in the US leaked the data of over 6,000 Twitter accounts critical of the Saudi government. His family has said his account, which had a large following, was among those leaked.
Following the court’s decision, his sister Areej, who lives in the US, took to Twitter to say she was “devastated.” She noted that the hearing was held in secret and that her brother was not given access to a lawyer. She accused Saudi authorities of torturing her brother and trying to cover up any signs of mistreatment.
Why the continuing #HumanRightsViolations against my brother and others in #SaudiArabia ? 👇#Torture #EnforcedDisappearance pic.twitter.com/V51gygwp60
— Areej Al Sadhan أريج السدحان (@AreejASadhan) October 6, 2021
US-Saudi relations have taken a hit over the issue of human rights, especially in the aftermath of the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In February, the Biden administration released a report explicitly blaming MBS for Khashoggi’s assassination in Istanbul. The US has also sought to end its support to Saudi Arabia in its war in Yemen and last month it removed the advanced Patriot missile defence system from the kingdom.
Al-Sadhan’s case is the latest example of the Saudi government’s continued crackdown against human rights activists and critics of MBS. According to a report by Amnesty International in August, Saudi Arabia has “stepped up” executions since January and intensified the persecution of human rights defenders and dissidents.