ALQST has recently learned of the arrest and ongoing detention of six individuals from Saudi Arabia’s Jazan Province on the kingdom’s southern border with Yemen, all of them having the same common local surname and four of them with apparent military connections. Five of the arrests took place within the past four years while one dates back over two decades. Little more is known about their cases, but all appear to relate to free speech or otherwise trivial reasons or unproven claims, highlighting once again the lack of due process and absence of transparency around detentions in the country, amid the authorities’ sustained and escalating crackdown on personal freedoms.
The longest standing case involves a soldier, Othman Ahmed Qumayri Hakami, who was arrested over 23 years ago, in 2000, following a raid on his home in a village in Jazan Province. Although it is not known whether he has been brought to trial or sentenced, he appears to have been arbitrarily arrested after lending his mobile phone to a prisoner, in a prison where he may have been working, to allow them to contact their family. Now in his 40s, Othman has spent most of his life in prison, separated from his parents (who have since passed away) and siblings.
The other five men detained were arrested more recently. Student Mohammed Sami Yahya Abbas Hakami was arrested in approximately 2021 following a raid on his home, in a village in Jazan, after posting tweets. It is feared that he has since been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Similarly, Othman Ali Zein Hakami, a retired teacher in his 50s, was arrested in approximately 2022 after old tweets of his were found which allegedly supported the Muslim Brotherhood. He may have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Bakr Abdulaziz Abdu Hakami, a soldier in his 30s, was arrested in 2023 and accused of smuggling weapons to the Houthis, although these claims have not been backed up by any evidence, and it is not known whether he has been formally charged or brought to trial. Ghalib Ahmed Abu Haddash Hakami, a soldier at Jazan Port, was arrested in mid-2024, accused of possessing a weapon, which his family denies. His arrest may instead have resulted from a conversation on WhatsApp. Ahmed Uthman Mazayed Hakami, a retired soldier in his 50s, was also arrested in mid-2024 in a home raid, following a conversation on WhatsApp in which he is thought to have criticised Royal Court adviser Turki Al Sheikh.
These arrests and detentions have occurred in the context of an intensified crackdown on free speech in Saudi Arabia, which has seen the authorities continue to make arbitrary arrests of people exercising their fundamental rights, and to issue a slew of lengthy prison sentences for peaceful activity, especially online.
The fact that there is so far little confirmed or further information about these cases reflects the total lack of transparency around detention and judicial processes in the country, in which the Saudi authorities block any means of accessing information, including independent monitoring of prisons or the courts. As such, the prison system remains shrouded in secrecy yet is known for grave violations of international human rights standards, including holding suspects in lengthy pre-trial custody. Likewise, the Saudi courts are notorious for their lack of independence and their failure to respect due process.
The lack of information also points to the prevailing climate of fear in Saudi Arabia, with friends and relatives ever more afraid to speak out, serving as a chilling reminder that the number of arbitrary arrests monitored in the country, along with other human rights abuses, is likely to represent only a fraction of the total.
ALQST calls on the Saudi authorities to uphold the rights of these detainees as enshrined in international law, and to immediately release those detained for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights. Furthermore, and in the absence of transparency, we once again urge the Saudi authorities to grant independent international observers and NGOs access to prisoners and detainees, and to extend invitations to, and accept visits from, UN Special Procedures mandate holders.
