Waleed Abu al-Khair
Waleed Abu al-Khair
Personal information
Name: Waleed Abu al-Khair
Name in Arabic: وليد أبو الخير
Date of Birth: 17 June 1979
Gender: Male
Marital status: Unknown
Profession: Human rights activist
Place of residence: Jeddah
Arrest and jail information
Date of arrest:15 April 2014
Manner of arrest: During the fifth session of his trial at the Specialised Criminal Court the judge ordered him arrested pending the outcome of the case; Abu al-Khair was placed in Al-Ha’ir Prison
Where held: Dhahban Central Prison, Jeddah
Trial information
Alleged crimes: Unknown
Victim's charges: Contempt of court; criticising the system of absolute monarchy and calling for a constitutional monarchy; inciting public opinion; communicating with foreign entities; using the media to smear the country’s reputation
Court: Specialised Criminal Court (SCC)
Verdict: 15-year prison term, 15-year travel ban and a fine of 200,000 Saudi riyals
Date of verdict: 15-year prison term, 15-year travel ban and a fine of 200,000 Saudi riyals
Updates on trial: Unknown
Previous arrests:
Human Rights Violations
Violations: Torture and ill-treatment
Violation details: On 29 November 2019, he started a hunger strike as an objection to ill treatment and removal from Dhabhan prison to high security prison on the 26 November, in which he was subjected to punishments by prolonged sun exposure, denied to basic furniture such as mattress, heater/air-conditioner and all his books were seized. After nearly two weeks Waleed ended his hunger strike. However, on 11 December 2019 he was placed in high security prison again and he went in hunger strike for the second time to protest against ill treatment. On 6 February 2020 Waleed ended his hunger strike after he was removed from high security prison and sent back to general prison.
References
Reference 1: https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/detention-waleed-abu-al-khair
Reference 2: https://menarights.org/en/caseprofile/saudi-lawyer-waleed-abu-al-khair-arbitrarily-detained-april-2014
Reference 3: https://alqst.org/prisonersofconscience/waleed-abu-al-khair
Reference 4: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/saudi-arabia-prominent-lawyer-hunger-strike-over-prison-mistreatment https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/12/23/saudi-political-prisoners-launch-hunger-strike https://alqst.org/en/search?s=Hunger%20Strike
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