Infants in Saudi Regime Prisons
Neither adults nor minors or infants were spared from the brutal arrests carried out by the Saudi authorities under direct orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The child “Kayan Husam Al-Juhani” was arrested with her mother Fatima Al-Balushi, while she was still a fetus in her mother’s womb in the fifth month. She was born inside the prison and today celebrates her second birthday in prison.
When it came to the birth of the detainee Fatima al-Balushi two years ago, the jailers took her to a military hospital to put her daughter there.
Immediately after her birth, Kayan was taken from her mother’s hand, her mother was returned to prison, and two weeks later she was given her mother for the first time.
She was not the first child to be born behind bars.
There are dozens of other cases, some of which remain unknown because families are kept secret for fear of a similar fate.
Tweeters and activists have called for tweeting about Kayan Husam al-Juhani, who is celebrating her second birthday behind bars, after the daughter of the detainee Fatima al-Balushi was born behind bars.
The tweeters and activists are demanding to talk about the case of “Kayan al-Juhani” to shed light on the crime of the Saudi authorities to arrest the child “Kayan al-Juhani” two years ago with her mother, and to demand their immediate release unconditionally.
Since taking office as Crown Prince in June 2017, Mohammed bin Salman has launched a campaign of arrests of human rights activists, journalists and moderate preachers that culminated in September 2017, despite human rights condemnation, and demanding international organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
In May, the arrests extended to human rights and feminist activists, and the Saudi authorities charged them with communicating with foreign parties as a result of their activism regarding women’s rights.
Activists on the social media site “Twitter”, called “distress”, to support the case of the pregnant detainee “Khadija al-Harbi”; because of the danger to her and her fetus, as she is about to give birth at any moment in the prison.
The activists said in tweets: “Khadija al-Harbi can give birth at any moment, she is in her last month, and fears increase of danger on her life if the prison administration intends to transfer to a civilian hospital at the time of birth.”
Earlier, activists on social media launched a campaign of solidarity with the writer “Khadija Al Harbi”, the wife of the blogger “Thamar Al Marzouqi”, who was arrested from her home in early April, with her husband, despite being pregnant.
Tweeters added: “The arrest of the writer # Khadija Al-Harbi, who is in her last months of pregnancy and the possibility of her baby soon in prison, is a confirmation of what has been published by media and activists several months ago about the presence of dozens of infants, including one or two years old infants.”
