TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

RELEASE DETAINED FRENCH-EGYPTIAN NATIONAL

Saudi Arabia UA 84.26

French-Egyptian national Dr. Amr Abdelfattah has been detained in Saudi Arabia for over two years. He was arrested in June 2024 after performing the Hajj pilgrimage for an invalid visa permit. He was put on trial before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) and learned during trial proceedings he was also being charged with expression-related offenses. In August 2026, his lawyer in France learned he had been sentenced to “years” in prison but was not told the specific sentence or basis for conviction. Since his arrest, Saudi authorities have denied him full access to a lawyer, subjected him to repeat bouts of torture and ill-treatment, held him incommunicado, and repeatedly denied him contact with his family.

Call on the Saudi Minister of Justice, Walid bin Mohammad AlSama’ani, to immediately release Dr. Amr Abdelfattah - send your message 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 concerned about the ongoing detention and fair trial violations of French-Egyptian telecommunications engineer, Dr. Amr Abdelfattah, who has been detained in Saudi Arabia since June 16, 2024 after being arrested while performing the Hajj pilgrimage.

Dr. Amr Abdelfattah was arrested by Saudi security officials in Mecca, who asked to see his Hajj permit and informed him that it was invalid. His family subsequently told Amnesty International that they had fallen victim to a visa scam, a problem that has affected other pilgrims traveling for Hajj.

When Dr. Amr Abdelfattah was brought to trial, almost a year later, before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), he learned he was also facing several speech-related charges, including "insulting the government of the Kingdom", "insulting the head of a state", and violating the counter-terror law for "praising detained individuals”, none of which are recognizable offenses under international law. His family believes these charges are due to comments he made to a police officer following his arrest.

I am alarmed by allegations that Amr Abdelfattah has been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment while detained at Dhahban Central Prison. Prison guards subjected him to beatings, forced him to run with his feet tied, and denied him food. In December 2024, he lost consciousness after being beaten by officers and was taken to the hospital.

The Saudi authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Amr Abdelfattah. Until then, they must prevent further fair trial rights violations, ensure he has regular access to his family and legal representation, and effectively investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.

Yours sincerely,

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