Rights group urges Saudi minister frees preacher Salman al-Awda

Rights group Amnesty International has urgently appealed for Saudi Arabia's minister of justice to free the preacher Sheikh Salman al-Awda, who has been behind bars for almost seven years.

In a statement, the organisation added that al-Awda, 68, has spent many years in solitary confinement, which has caused his health to deteriorate. It noted that both his sight and his hearing have been reduced by half.

According to the rights group, al-Awda was arrested without a warrant just hours after he posted a tweet calling for an end to the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, amid a diplomatic crisis.

The group has also long argued that his trial before the Specialised Criminal Court was marred with flagrant violations and was not a fair trial, noting he was charged with 37 counts.

Activists have spent years campaigning for his release on social media, however, Amnesty International highlighted that the Public Prosecutor has been seeking the death penalty against him since July 2021, further fuelling concerns.

Rights organisations have also raised the alarm over authorities subjecting al-Awda’s family to restrictions, including barring them from travelling.

Reports in local Arabic media state that al-Awda has been subject to psychological torture, sleep deprivation, and has been prevented from speaking to his family.

The preacher was only allowed to call his family a month following his detention, reports added.

Vague charges

Amnesty International highlighted that the charges against him are vague, and include the inciting of public of public opinion, criticising state policy, and publishing content that "stirs discord", accusations which human rights campaigners have decried as a broader campaign to suppress freedom of expression.

Amnesty International called on Saudi Arabia to immediately end al-Awda’s solitary confinement, provide him with access to medical care, and guarantee his right to a fair trial.

In 2020, a recording from the prominent cleric was heard from inside Saudi prisons for the first time since his arrest.

The recording was of a phone call between al-Awda and his mother and daughter, where he says: "I’m doing well, praise be to God," and goes on to discuss Ramadan under the Coronavirus lockdown.

Activists at the time said the scholar's insistence on small talk could be due to the phone call being monitored by the prison authorities.

Human rights groups have said the trial is a political reprisal against Awdah, a leading figure in a 1990s Islamist movement associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. He has written hundreds of articles on Islamic law while at the same time embracing modernity and democracy.

In 2021, the Al Qst rights group said Al-Awda attended a trial session, and his family was told that a further hearing would take place, but nothing was scheduled, and the trial remains pending.