News - Middle East: A human rights organization has sounded the alarm over the fate of political dissidents incarcerated in Saudi jails, amid the Riyadh regime’s aggressive crackdown on any whiff of dissent.

In its latest report, Sanad human rights organization, which monitors and exposes human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, said civil rights activists and distinguished scholars feel really insecure anytime they express their opinions and make critical comments.

The organization lamented that concerns about the fate of imprisoned activists in Saudi Arabia have increased in light of the House of Saud’s heavy-handed clampdown, arrest campaigns, persecution of dissidents, and pervasive distortion and misrepresentation of facts.
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Human rights organizations call for immediate release of Saudi activists

It said the situation of civil rights and personal freedoms in Saudi Arabia has deteriorated significantly since Mohammed bin Salman was named the kingdom’s crown prince in 2017, and arbitrary arrests and deliberate abuses are increasingly getting common.

Sanad, citing human rights sources requesting anonymity, reported that Saudi forces have illegally and arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned rights activist Ibrahim al-Dhaman, without providing any reasons.

The rights group also pointed to another Saudi activist, Abed bin Nasser al-Mashal, saying he had been sentenced to 17 years in prison by the country’s judiciary on trumped-up charges.

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Nearly dozen intl. rights groups demand Saudi accountability for crackdown on dissent

Sanad finally called upon relevant state institutions in Saudi Arabia to respect the rights of citizens, observe freedom of speech, prevent arbitrary arrests, and release prisoners of conscience.

Saudi Arabia detains 142 officials in new corruption case

Saudi authorities have detained dozens of officials in a new alleged anti-corruption case amid reports that bin Salman is seeking to get rid of potential rivals to the throne.

The English-language daily newspaper Saudi Gazette, citing the country’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha), reported that 142 individuals were jailed on charges of bribery, abuse of influence, money laundering and forgery.