Asaad al-Ghamdi was convicted of supporting terrorism based on his peaceful social media posts. His twenty-year sentence follows the death sentence to his brother Mohammed al-Ghamdi in 2023. These sentences are viewed as retaliation against the third brother – an Islamic Scholar and a critic of the Saudi government, Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, living in exile in the United Kingdom.
https://x.com/HRF/status/1810770739781673313
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-court-hands-20-year-sentence-teacher-tweets
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/09/saudi-arabia-20-year-sentence-tweets
July 14, 2024
His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud
Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
Executive Office of the Crown Prince
P.O. Box 11111
Riyadh 12911
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: +00966114803572
Email: admin@cps.gov.sa
Your Royal Highness:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.
We are writing regarding the imprisonment of a schoolteacher, Asaad al-Ghamdi. Mr. Al-Ghamdi, 47, was arrested at night in front of his family in his home in Jedda in November 2022. He was accused of “challenging the religion and justice of the King and the Crown Prince” and “publishing false malicious news and rumors” – a reference to his peaceful posts on the social media platform, X, that included mourning the death of a peaceful activist, Abdullah al-Hamid. Al-Ghamdi was charged with “supporting terrorist ideas” and sentenced to twenty years in prison on 12 July 2024. His brother, retired teacher Mohammed al-Ghamdi, was sentenced to death in July 2023 for similarly placing non-violent posts on social media. Both sentences have been widely seen as retaliation against the third brother, a prominent Islamic scholar and a critic of the Saudi government, Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, living in exile in the United Kingdom.
Our Committee calls upon the Saudi Government to stop the persecution of the al-Ghamdi brothers. We have serious concerns regarding the most recent twenty-year sentence to Asaad al-Ghamdi. Mr. Asaad al-Ghamdi has epilepsy, and he therefore requires specialized medical care, yet his lawyer refused to even bring this up at the trial. Due to the negligence of Asaad al-Ghamdi’s legal representation in this regard, we are concerned he was inadequately represented in court in all regards. Moreover, his imprisonment has been strikingly inhumane: he was held in solitary confinement for months, and his visitations by family were severely limited. We ask that Asaad al-Ghamdi, while in prison, be given sufficient medical care for his epilepsy and any other illnesses he may be suffering from.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
CC:
Anthony Blinken
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
423 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-6225
Web_Inquiry@foreign.senate.gov
Mr António Guterres
Secretary-General
United Nations
405 East, 42nd Street
New York, NY, 10017
sgcentral@un.org