Saudi authorities arbitrarily detain a whole family
The Saudi authorities escalated their violations and oppression in the Kingdom and arrested an entire family.
The arrest of the writer Ishtiaq Muhammad Al-Saif was revealed months after the arrest of her husband Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Al-Zahir and her son.
Rights sources told Saudi Leaks that the Al Saud authorities arrested the writer Ishtiaq three months ago.
The authorities concealed her fate and whereabouts so that a whole family would be arrested in prisons.
Punishment for an appeal
The sources suggested that the arrest was due to her demands to release her son, who was detained for calling for “freedom of opinion and expression.”
A few days ago, Ishtiaq attended the Criminal Court, and the judge ordered her imprisonment for six months in Dammam Prison.
The writer is Ishtiaq, an English language teacher, a freelance writer and poet with contributions to organizing events and managing cultural gatherings.
She worked in organizing recreational, cultural and educational trips for student groups and families.
She is the owner of the “Lamma Habayeb” initiative for weekly trips and the activation of educational programs for Corniche visitors.
She is also a member of the Humanitarian Forum, a member of the Nawras Literary Forum, a member of the N Forum and the Cultural Pen.
She has recently published a collection of stories (A Female Who Knows the Impossible), and (The Letters Dance in Love).
Human rights violations
In October 2020, forces affiliated with the Presidency of State Security, which is supervised by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stormed several homes in the town of Al-Rabiah and the Umm Al-Jamz neighbourhood in Al-Qatif, and arrested three women, without providing reasons.
These arrests are part of a series of continuous targeting by the Saudi regime of the people of Al-Qatif.
This is against the backdrop of the peaceful movement they started in 2011, calling for reforms in the system of government and an end to sectarian discrimination.
During the past three years, the Kingdom has witnessed a huge arrest campaign led by the Crown Prince.
Hundreds of activists and human rights defenders tried to reject the continuing repression and violations of human rights.
And this is amid human rights demands to reveal their fate and provide them with justice.
Targeting of women
The European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights confirmed that the Saudi regime escalated its persecution of women in the Kingdom during the first half of 2020.
The organization indicated that the Saudi government continues to detain 48 women in 5 prisons.
This statistic relates to female detainees for political reasons. It does not include female detainees with criminal justifications, and the organization believes that these numbers are more than they are counted.
