URGENT ACTION

DUTCH-YEMENI RESTAURANT OWNER ARBITRARILY DETAINED
Saudi authorities detained Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan on 20 November 2023, two days after he arrived in Saudi Arabia from the Netherlands. He was held in incommunicado detention from 23 November 2023 until 1 January 2024, and has had no access to legal representation throughout his detention and interrogation. He told officials from the Dutch embassy in Riyadh that he had sympathized online with a critic of the Saudi royal family and believed that was the reason for his detention. He is likely to be arbitrarily detained because of his online activities because according to his family, he was asked to sign a document by interrogators in May which included four of his tweets. Saudi authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan.

TAKE ACTION: WRITE AN APPEAL IN YOUR OWN WORDS OR USE THIS MODEL LETTER

Waleed Mohammed Al Samani
Minister of Justice
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Postal Code 11472, P.O Box 7775
Email: 1950@moj.gov.sa 

Your Excellency,

I am gravely concerned about the continued arbitrary detention of Dutch-Yemeni citizen Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan, who has been detained in Dhahban Central Prison and held without any charge against him for over ten months. 

On 20 November 2023, two days after arriving to Saudi Arabia from the Netherlands, Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan received a phone call from the Criminal Investigation Department in Jeddah, asking him to report to the police without informing him of the reason. Upon arrival at the police station that same day, security forces arbitrarily detained him without giving him a reason or allowing him to contact a lawyer. He was permitted a brief call to his wife but was not allowed to inform her where he was being detained. 

According to his family, Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan was held in incommunicado detention until 1 January 2024, when he was allowed to call his sister in Saudi Arabia. He told her that his interrogation had ended, but that he was not aware of any formal charges filed against him. He has had no access to legal representation throughout his detention and interrogation. In January 2024, Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan’s family appointed a lawyer who tried to visit him in prison but was not allowed to see him. According to the family, the lawyer was told by prison authorities that he should not interfere in the case.

Officials from the Dutch embassy in Riyadh were allowed to visit him in prison on 21 March 2024. He told them that a few years ago, he had expressed sympathy online with a critic of the Saudi royal family and believed that was the reason for his detention. According to his family, in May 2024, prison officials asked Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan to sign a document which included four of his tweets.

Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan suffers from diabetes, and has had stomach surgery, which requires him to follow a special diet. He has informed his family that he is sick and that he is not receiving adequate medical care.

Saudi authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan, if he is detained solely for peacefully exercising their human rights. They must otherwise produce sufficient evidence pointing to his involvement in an internationally recognized criminal offence. Pending his release, we urge you to ensure that Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan receives adequate medical care and access to the lawyer appointed by his family. 

Yours sincerely,

Additional information

Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan was born in Saudi Arabia and had returned to the country on 18 November 2023 to gather paperwork to complete an application for citizenship in the Netherlands, where he has been granted asylum protection since 2018. He was granted Dutch citizenship in February 2024.
Amnesty International has documented the Saudi authorities’ increasing crackdown on freedom of expression, targeting both citizens and foreign nationals, many of whom have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. This includes criticizing the government and its policies.
Legal proceedings in these cases fall far short of international fair trial standards. Individuals are often held incommunicado without charge, in solitary confinement, and denied access to lawyers or the courts to challenge the lawfulness of their detention.
As of July 2024, Amnesty International has documented the cases of 82 individuals who had been prosecuted solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, including human rights defenders, peaceful political activists, journalists, poets and clerics. Of those, 32 were prosecuted for peacefully expressing their opinions on social media. Amnesty International is aware that the real number of such prosecutions is likely much higher.

PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: Arabic and English.
You can also write in your own language.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 18 February 2025.
Please check with the Amnesty office in your country if you wish to send appeals after the deadline.

NAME AND PREFFERED PRONOUN: Fahd Ezzi Mohammed Ramadhan (he/him).

Additional targets

The Saudi Human Rights Commission:
Dr. Hala bint Mazyad bin Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri
Email: po@hrc.gov.sa
Twitter: @HRCSaudi
Phone: +966114185100
Fax: +966114185101
Salutation: Your Excellency

His Excellency Hrh Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Sultan Al-Saud
Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
15 Curzon Street, London W1J 5HW
30 Charles Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 5DZ.
15-16 Queen Street, London W1J 5PQ
020 7917 3000
Salutation: Your Excellency