Home News Saudi human rights defender Mohammad al-Qahtani released from prison

Saudi human rights defender Mohammad al-Qahtani released from prison

Saudi human rights defender Mohammad al-Qahtani released from prison

STOCKHOLM – Right Livelihood welcomes the release of Saudi human rights defender and Right Livelihood Laureate Mohammad al-Qahtani after 12 years of unjust imprisonment, which included two years of enforced disappearance.

“After over 12 years of unjust oppressor detention … my husband, Dr Mohammad al-Qahtani, was finally released on January 7, 2025,  ‏which made us very happy,” said Maha al-Qahtani, his wife. She first confirmed her husband’s release in a post on X.

She noted that her husband was still under a 10-year travel ban and was suffering from various health conditions.

“He has gone blind in his left eye due to the deliberate medical negligence he was subjected to,” she said. “The operation, which the doctor decided was urgent, was postponed more than four times during the enforced disappearance he was subjected to over the past two years.”

She said that she and their children, all based in the United States, were now pushing for al-Qahtani’s full release so that he could be reunited with them.

“We are extremely relieved that Mohammad al-Qahtani is finally free,” said Ole von Uexkull, Right Livelihood’s Executive Director. “At the same time, we must not forget the injustice of al-Qahtani’s arbitrary detention: who will be held accountable for silencing a human rights defender? He spent 12 years in prison, during which he was subjected to inhumane treatment and held incommunicado for two years. Those are precious years stolen from him and his family.”

Al-Qahtani was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for his democracy and human rights work. After regular contact with his family throughout his imprisonment, al-Qahtani was last heard from on October 23, 2022, approximately one month before his intended release. He was forcibly disappeared and held incommunicado for over two years until November 4, 2024, when he was permitted contact with his family.

Al-Qahtani received the Right Livelihood Award in 2018 alongside fellow Saudi human rights defenders Abdullah al-Hamid and Waleed Abu al-Khair. All three of them were imprisoned for challenging Saudi Arabia’s totalitarian system through peaceful methods. Abu al-Khair remains in prison to this day, while al-Hamid passed away due to medical negligence by the Saudi authorities on April 24, 2020, while serving an 11-year sentence. 

“The positive news about al-Qahtani is also a sad reminder of the fate of his fellow Laureates and so many other human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia,” said von Uexkull. “We continue to demand the unconditional release of Waleed Abu al-Khair and the countless others imprisoned for their human rights work.”

Right Livelihood has worked with civil society partners and al-Qahtani’s family calling for his release for years. In addition to delivering regular statements at the UN Human Rights Council to highlight his situation, we have organised the #FreeAlQahtani campaign, held international press conferences and facilitated advocacy visits, all demanding his immediate and unconditional release.

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