Saudi regime sentences Asaad bin Nasser Al-Ghamdi to 20 years in prison
RIYADH, June 24 (YPA) – The opposition Saudi National Assembly Party condemned the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh for sentencing teacher Asaad bin Nasser Al-Ghamdi to 20 years in prison and a travel ban.
Al-Ghamdi was convicted on charges related to freedom of expression on social media, including accusations of insulting religion and the King’s justice, endorsing terrorist ideas, attempting to destabilise the system, and endangering national unity.
The arrest of Asaad Al-Ghamdi stemmed from tweets on his personal Twitter account, which the Public Prosecution sought to shut down in the indictment, a measure which the court also ruled upon.
Among the tweets considered as evidence against him was one where he expressed condolences for Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid, the founder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (HASM).
He also criticised projects related to Vision 2030 and questioned their absence in the city of Jeddah.
Additionally, he criticised the ongoing transformation in the Saudi regime and its abandonment of the old religious alliance.
Asaad is the brother of London-based Saudi dissident Sa’id bin Nasser Al-Ghamdi, and Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, who was sentenced to death for his X platform posts.
After a year and a half of detention, Asaad Al-Ghamdi was sentenced to 20 years in prison and banned from traveling. In the context of this trial, the Saudi authorities appointed a lawyer to defend him, but this lawyer seemed more like a security officer than a defense attorney, according to the party.
The party also affirmed that Asaad Al-Ghamdi suffered from continuous torture and deliberate medical neglect in Dhahban and Al-Hayer prisons.
He was given pills that manipulated his mind and psyche, leading to a noticeable deterioration in his health and mental state
During visits, he appeared in a dazed state, repeating words without awareness, indicating the effect of the medications on him. He also experienced fainting spells that resulted in a broken tooth and a finger on one hand without receiving the necessary medical care.
Saudi human rights activist Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid passed away in custody on April 24, 2020, after years of imprisonment in Saudi jails where he endured various violations and a slow death.
Since September 2017, Saudi authorities have launched a campaign of arrests and pursuit targeting dozens of scholars, thinkers, prominent preachers, academics, and others.
@E.Y.M