Saudi Arabia: Palestinian Detained Past Sentence Expiry
Palestinian nationals Dr. Mohammed al-Khudari and Dr. Hani al-Khudari were arbitrarily arrested on 4 April 2019 and remained in detention without charges until 8 March 2020. Both men were subjected to gross human rights violations including enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and detention, being held incommunicado and in solitary confinement. Furthermore, both men were interrogated behind closed doors without the presence or participation of their lawyers. In November 2020, they were transferred to Abha prison, which lacks medical specialists and the necessary standard of care.
On 8 March 2020, both men were charged before the Specialized Criminal Court with “joining a terrorist entity” - understood to be Hamas de facto authorities - as part a mass trial of 68 individuals. Dr. Mohammed al-Khudari was additionally charged with holding several leadership positions within the entity. This trial was marred by numerous and serious violations of their due process rights, including enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and detention, being held incommunicado and solitary confinement. On 8 August 2021, the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced Dr. Mohammed al-Khudari to 15 years in prison, with half the term discounted given his age; leaving him with seven and a half years to serve in detention; and sentenced Dr. Hani al-Khudari to three years in prison including time served, followed by deportation from Saudi Arabia. Following the appeal, on 28 December 2021, the Court of Appeal in Riyadh reduced the sentence of Dr. Mohammed al-Khudari to six years in prison, with half the term discounted given his age; and upheld Dr. Hani al-Khudari’s sentence. Based on this, both men should have been released from prison on 28 February 2022. Although Dr. Mohammed al-Khudari was released in October 2022, his son Dr. Hani al-Khudari remains in detention.
Dr. Hani al-Khudari, suffers anaemia and requires urgent medical care to remove gallbladder stones which he was diagnosed with two years ago, in addition to urgent dental care. According to his family, if Hani’s gallbladder stones are not removed, this may cause serious implications to his liver. The prison hospital is unable to perform the surgery and therefore needs to be released in order to receive medical care and has been refused adequate medical care. Furthermore, he had previously contracted COVID-19 in prison.
On 19 October 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued decision 34/2021 which classified the detention of Dr. Mohammed al-Khudari and Dr. Hani al-Khudari as arbitrary. In its decision, the WGAD urged the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release both men, so that they may receive the required urgent medical care, in accordance with article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights and rules 24 to 35 of the Nelson Mandela rules, and to accord both men an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.
The arrests of the two Palestinian nationals is part of a wider crackdown by the Saudi Arabian authorities on Palestinian, Jordanian and Saudi Arabian nationals residing in Saudi Arabia with a perceived link to Hamas de facto authorities.
Amnesty International has documented the Saudi Arabian authorities’ use of the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) since 2011 to systematically silence dissent, concluding that SCC judges have presided over grossly unfair trials, handing down prison sentences of up to 30 years and numerous death sentences under vague provisions of the counter-terror and anti-cybercrime laws.