Advocacy / Saudi Arabia
Saudi authorities must release human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani and other ACPRA members who are arbitrarily detained
We, the undersigned human rights organisations, call on Saudi authorities to reveal the health condition of and immediately and unconditionally release prominent Saudi human rights defender and co-founder of the now dissolved Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)*, Dr. Mohammed al-Qahtani, who has been detained incommunicado for six months. We also call for the immediate and unconditional release of four ACPRA members who remain in arbitrary detention.
53 groups urge passage of Senate 502B resolution on Saudi Arabia
MENA Rights Group joined a group of civil society organisations in expressing our support for the passage of the S.Res.109 pursuant to Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act. The resolution, initiated by US Senators Chris Murphy and Mike Lee, requests information on human rights violations in Saudi Arabia when discussing foreign aid to the Kingdom.
Open letter: NGOs call on Boeing to urge Saudi Arabia to lift travel bans on peaceful activists
MENA Rights Group joins 7 human rights NGOs in sending an open letter to Boeing in light of their latest commercial deals with Saudi Arabia, calling on the latter to lift travel bans on human rights activists.
UN Human Rights Council must hold Saudi Arabia accountable for repression of activists
During the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, MENA Rights Group, Right Livelihood and ALQST for Human Rights spoke during the debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention. More specifically, we shed light on the increasing repression of human rights defenders and peaceful dissidents in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia: End Male Guardianship
On International Women's Day, MENA Rights Group joined 7 organisations in calling for the end of male guardianship in Saudi Arabia, which is particularly codified by the Personal Status Law.
Morocco should refrain from deporting Hassan Al-Rabea to Saudi Arabia
Joint letter supported by 9 human rights organisations calling on the Moroccan Government to release Saudi citizen Hassan Mohamed Al-Rabea and to refrain from deporting him to Saudi Arabia, where he would face torture.
Human rights groups call on Belgium to open investigation into Saudi Crown Prince for crimes against humanity
Public statement on the submission of an expert opinion drafted by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), MENA Rights Group, and the Freedom Initiative supporting a complaint filed in Belgium in December 2021 by the Open Society Justice Initiative against Saudi Arabia for crimes against humanity. The expert opinion highlighted “systemic and generalized violations of human rights committed against individuals who have peacefully criticized authorities or their policies”.
Joint NGO letter to Saudi embassies regarding the disappearance of Mohammed al-Qahtani
The undersigned civil society organisations are writing to you to express their grave concern for the wellbeing of detained human rights defender Dr. Mohammed al-Qahtani, who has been subjected to enforced disappearance since 24 October 2022. We urge you to convey to your government the calls to disclose his whereabouts and to release him immediately and unconditionally.
Rights organisations call on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to urge Saudi Arabia to implement a moratorium on executions
In a joint letter addressed to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, a coalition of seven rights organisations raised their concerns over the prevalence of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia and its use against child defendants, pro-democracy protestors and non-lethal offences. The coalition further requested that the UN High Commissioner engage with the Saudi authorities on their use of the death penalty and urge them to implement a moratorium on its use.
Fears grow for Saudi detainees awaiting trial or sentencing, following wave of 30-year-plus prison terms
In light of the unprecedented jail sentences recently issued against peaceful activists and others in Saudi Arabia merely for exercising their freedom of expression, concerns are growing for those who remain in arbitrary detention without charge or are facing prolonged trials or retrial. The undersigned NGOs call on the international community to intensify efforts to press the Saudi Arabian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those who are unjustly and arbitrarily detained in the kingdom for peacefully exercising their fundamental freedoms.