Schiff, Raskin, Wyden, and Beyer Demand Release of All Wrongfully Detained Human Rights Advocates in Saudi Arabia

July 31, 2024

Washington, D.C.- Today, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and Donald Beyer (D-Va.) alongside Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), wrote a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the U.S. government to call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to release all wrongfully detained human rights advocates.

"Five years after the grisly murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, which was ordered by Saudi authorities, we are profoundly troubled by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's continuing crackdown on freedom of expression and are very worried about the fate of numerous people unfairly tried and incarcerated in the Kingdom," the lawmakers wrote. "Dozens of human rights defenders and women's rights advocates, some of whom are family members of United States citizens, have been incarcerated simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association.

"These unjustly incarcerated citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have endured, along with their families, years of heartbreak and anguish at the hands of the agents of this theocratic police state," the lawmakers continued. "Many others know that same struggle but have been silenced through violent intimidation, travel bans, and the fear of reprisals against their loved ones."

"Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to power, people in Saudi Arabia have been facing an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression, with some of the harshest prison sentences ever documented being handed out to those who simply peacefully expressed their views," said Andrew Fandino, Advocacy Director for Individuals at Risk, Amnesty International USA. "In one case, authorities even sentenced a man to death solely based on things he said online. This zero-tolerance policy for criticism must come to an end, and all those who have been wrongly detained, must be immediately and unconditionally released."

"Many want to celebrate the supposed reforms of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and ignore his brutal authoritarianism, which punishes women to decades in prison for social media posts," said Tess McEnery, Executive Director, Middle East Democracy Center. "It is clear, however, that domestic repression begets international aggression, and it is in the U.S. national security interest to address both, starting with securing the freedom of those imprisoned for peaceful expression."

The lawmakers cite some of the Kingdom's most egregious acts of repression, including the cases of Salma al-Shehab and Noura al-Qahtani. Ms. Al-Shehab, a PhD student and mother of two, was sentenced to 27 years in prison followed by a 27-year travel ban solely for expressing support for prisoners of conscience, including imprisoned women's rights activists, and calling for an end to male guardianship. Ms. Al-Qahtani, a mother of five, was sentenced to 45 years in prison followed by a 45-year travel ban for tweeting to her fewer than 650 followers about her hope that Saudis will someday choose their own government.

Saudi Arabia is among the countries with the lowest Human Freedom Indexes. In 2023, it ranked 154th out of 163 surveyed countries. The regime rigorously applies the Kingdom's repressive laws to silence critical voices and imprison human rights defenders.

The lawmakers were joined on the letter by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Timothy Kaine (D-Va.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernard Sanders (D-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Representatives Donald S. Beyer (D-Va.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and David Trone (D-Md.).

Read the full letter to President Biden and Secretary Blinken here.

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