Retired Saudi teacher sentenced to death for holding post should be released, UN demands

A former teacher who was sentenced to death by a Saudi court last year for social media posts on accounts with 10 followers is being arbitrarily detained and should be released immediately, according to UN experts.

The conclusion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the case of Mohammed al-Ghamdi, a retired teacher, came just over a month after his brother Asaad al-Ghamdi, also a teacher, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his posts on X.

Their posts included criticism of Saudi government policies – including its flagship economic program Vision 2030 – as well as unemployment, inflation and mismanagement of resources. Some called for the release of political prisoners. Others mourned those who have died in prison.

Her brother, Saeed Nasser al-Ghamdi, a prominent religious scholar and Saudi opposition figure based in London, said on Friday he welcomed the UN findings.

“The most important thing, however, remains to ensure its implementation by the Saudi government, which has a history of disregarding international law,” Saeed Nasser al-Ghamdi said in a statement.

The brothers are among a growing group of Saudi Arabians who have been arrested and given harsh sentences over the past three years for critical social media posts about government policies.

The Working Group noted that it had identified 75 violations of Saudi Arabia’s international human rights obligations over the course of its 30-year history and expressed concern that this indicated a systematic problem of arbitrary detention in the Kingdom.

“Widespread or systematic detention or other severe deprivation of liberty in violation of the rules of international law may constitute a crime against humanity,” the group wrote.

Haydee Dijkstal, a lawyer at British law firm 33 Bedford Row Chambers representing the brothers, said their detentions and convictions “demonstrate a bold and deliberate continuation and escalation of the repression of free expression reported in Saudi Arabia.”

“Bad laws”

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman acknowledged in an interview with Fox News last September that Mohammed al-Ghamdi was the victim of “bad laws” that he believed needed to be changed.

“It’s shameful, but true,” the crown prince said of Ghamdi’s death sentence. “I don’t like it.”

However, human rights activists were quick to point out that the anti-terrorism law under which Ghamdi was tried was part of comprehensive reforms initiated by the crown prince after taking office.

Samer al-Shumrani, director of operations at the UK-based human rights organization Sanad, said on Friday that nothing had changed since the Fox News interview.

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“It is even worse,” he told Middle East Eye, referring to the subsequent conviction of Asaad al-Ghamdi.

Saudi Arabia told the working group that Mohammed al-Ghamdi was guilty of inciting sedition, spreading chaos and disrupting public security.

According to the working group, the Saudi government argued that “although freedom of expression is protected in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Al-Ghamdi’s actions constituted terrorist acts.”

The Saudi government also stressed that the 2017 anti-terrorism law under which the brothers were convicted and which was heavily criticized by human rights groups was in line with the UN’s global counter-terrorism strategy.

Saeed al-Ghamdi said he believes his brothers were targeted because of his activism.

“The Saudi authorities have asked me several times to return to Saudi Arabia, but I refused,” he said.

“It is very likely that these sentences against my brothers are retaliation for my activities. Otherwise the charges would not have resulted in such a severe punishment.”

The Saudi Foreign Ministry was asked for comment.