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30 YEARS IN PRISON FOR PEACEFUL SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

On September 24, 2024, the appeals chamber of Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) commuted Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi's death sentence for his social media posts, resentencing him to 30 years in prison, a ludicrously harsh punishment for exercising his right to free expression.

Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, a 55-year-old retired teacher, was sentenced to death by the SCC on July 9, 2023 for his peaceful online activity on X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. He was convicted on trumped up terrorism charges for posts in which he criticized the Saudi King and Crown Prince and Saudi’s foreign policy, called for the release of detained religious clerics and protested increased prices. Amnesty International calls on Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi.

Urge Saudi Minister of Justice, Walid bin Mohammad AlSama’ani, to immediately release Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi - send your email using our email-writing tool.

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Saudi Minister of Justice

Walid

bin Mohammad AlSama

Saudi Minister of Justice

Your Excellency,

I am writing to express my grave concern regarding the case of Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi. While I acknowledge the commutation of his death sentence, I am deeply troubled by the decision of the Specialized Criminal Court's (SCC) appeals chamber to resentence him to 30 years in prison. He remains unjustly detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression online.

According to his brother, Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi was arrested on 11 June 2022 by State Security forces as he sat with his wife and children in front of their house in al-Nawwariyyah neighbourhood in the city of Mecca. He was then held in solitary confinement for four months without access to his family or a lawyer. During his interrogation, he was questioned about his political opinions and views on other imprisoned Saudi nationals.

According to the verdict and charge sheet reviewed by Amnesty International, Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi was convicted under Saudi Arabia's counterterrorism law for social media posts criticizing the Saudi King, Crown Prince, and foreign policy, and for calling for the release of detained religious clerics and protesting price increases. These are views protected under international human rights law, and he has not been accused of any violent crime.

Furthermore, his brother, Asaad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison on May 29, 2024, for similar social media posts.

I urge you to immediately and unconditionally release Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi. His continued detention is a clear violation of his fundamental human rights.

Sincerely,

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