Nov. 9 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The UN special rapporteur who examines the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, expressed concern this Friday about the state of health of Saudi human rights defender Mohamed al Qahtani, who remains incommunicado in prison.
“I am concerned by reports that his family has lost communication since October 23, 2022 after filing a complaint about attacks against him by other inmates,” he said in a statement.
Thus, he has appealed to the Saudi authorities to allow the family to have contact with the prisoner, as well as to inform his loved ones about his state of health and also allow him access to a lawyer.
Lawlor has recalled that “the incommunicado regime” represents a violation of the rights of detainees under International Law. “They are at greater risk of being subjected to ill-treatment and torture when all contact with the outside world is blocked,” she recalled.
Al Qahtani has repeatedly protested ill-treatment while serving his sentence in a Riyadh prison. Since May, he has warned of constant attacks by other prisoners, although the prison authorities have denied his request for a transfer.
The activist is a founding member of the Saudi Arabian Civil and Political Rights Association, which was dissolved in 2013. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly providing false information to outside sources, including the United Nations Human Rights mechanisms.
