Saudi Arabia: Prisoner of conscience Al-Sunaidi was prevented from contacts and visits

ALQST for human rights revealed that the Saudi authorities prevented prisoner of conscience Abdulaziz Al-Sunaidi from visits and communication with his family.

The human rights organization said that Al-Sunaidi, who has been detained since February 8, 2015, was subjected to psychological torture and threats repeatedly, let alone his solitary confinement.

Al-Sunaidi and was sentenced to eight years in prison and a similar period of travel ban due to tweets defending human rights.

Al-Sunaidi was arbitrary arrested, as members of the Criminal Investigation Department raided a gas station in which Al-Sunaidi where was present, and took him immediately to the Shamasiyah Governorate police station in Al-Qassim.

A day after he was interrogated about his tweets on “@akhdar6” account and statements he signed calling for political reforms. After two days of his presence in the Shamasiya police, he was transferred to the criminal prison in Buraidah, and then to Al-Malaz prison in Riyadh, then to Briman prison in Jeddah. And now he is in Al-Malaz prison in Riyadh.

Al-Sunaidi was tried on several charges:

• Insulting the King, interfering with what does not concern him, sowing chaos, inciting public opinion and stirring up strife through his Twitter account.
• Calling for disturbing public order, spreading chaos and breaching security by signing a statement calling for demonstrations.
• Diminishing and insulting the judiciary, and describing judges as oppressors.
• Describing the Saudi regime as a police regime that targets human rights.
• Inciting public opinion by accusing security forces and senior officials of oppression and torture.
• Supporting and sympathizing with the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA).
• Not complying with the judiciary’s decision to dissolve (ACPRA).
• Retweeting offensive hashtags and accounts claiming support for detainees.
• Preparing, storing, and sending what would harm the public order by writing tweets accusing supervisory and executive authorities of injustice.

Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took office, the Saudi authorities launched a wave of arrests of hundreds of officials, princes, preachers, political opponents, and even liberal activists.

Bin Salman used various methods of intimidation against those who oppose him, making many changes that no one had preceded in his country, which undermined human rights and freedom of expression in the kingdom.