Saudi activist arrested in Bulgaria announces hunger strike

A Saudi dissident seeking asylum in Bulgaria said on Wednesday he had begun an indefinite hunger strike to demand his release from detention.

“I began an indefinite hunger strike on July 5 to protest against the violation of my human rights, European laws and international treaties by the Bulgarian authorities,” said Abd al-Rahman al-Khalidi AFP.

He spoke by telephone from the detention camp in Sofia, where he has been held for almost three years.

He called on the Bulgarian authorities to release him “immediately and unconditionally”.

“I will continue my hunger strike until these demands are met,” he said. “Any attempt to end the hunger strike by force without meeting my demands will have serious consequences.”

But in an email to AFPThe Bulgarian Refugee Agency (SAR) said: “Regarding the allegations that he has started a hunger strike, SAR officials do not currently confirm that Mr. Al-Khalidi has stopped eating.”

The agency “takes every report of human rights violations by asylum seekers seriously,” it said. “If violations are identified, action will be taken.”

In 2011, following the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East, Khalidi took part in rare demonstrations in eastern Saudi Arabia, where the country’s Shiite minority is concentrated.

He fled to Turkey in 2013 and travelled on foot to Bulgaria in 2021, when his passport expired, to seek protection in the European Union.

Bulgarian authorities ruled in 2022 that he had not sufficiently proven that he would face persecution in his home country, said a Bulgarian lawyer who worked on the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In February, Khalidi received a deportation order to return to Saudi Arabia, which he appealed.

The administrative court in the capital Sofia decided on July 5 to postpone the hearing of his appeal until September.

But Bulgaria’s Supreme Administrative Court has now ordered a review of the state refugee agency’s original rejection of his asylum application.

The court concluded that the rejection of his application was based on an “unjustified opinion” by the State Agency for National Security that he posed “a threat to national security.”

The human rights group Bulgarian Helsinki Committee is campaigning in favor of Khalidi.

Its chairwoman, Adela Kachaunova, could not immediately confirm on Wednesday whether his hunger strike was continuing, but she argued that “his detention remains excessively long.”

Amnesty International said in March that if deported, Khalidi would be at risk of torture and other serious human rights violations “because of his political views and activism.”

Human rights groups and activists say Saudi Arabia has seen a crackdown on dissent under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Khalidi’s fears for his safety increased last year when Hassan al-Rabie, another Saudi dissident, was extradited from Morocco, where he had sought temporary refuge.