The lawyer of a man who was arrested and sentenced to 10 years behind bars for a single tweet has issued a statement.
Ahmed al-Doush, a senior business analyst with Bank of America, was heading home after a family vacation when he was stopped at the airport by security.
Saudi authorities detained the dad-of-four at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and was subsequently handed a harsh prison sentence of 10 years in jail.
Five months following his arrest, Amnesty International was informed that charges would be issued for the spreading of fake, untrue and damaging news on social media.
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The source of this is believed by al-Doush’s family to stem from a single tweet he had written to his 37 followers in 2018 about the situation in Sudan with no mention to Saudi Arabia and was later deleted.
Since his sentencing, al-Doush’s lawyer, Haydee Dijkstal, has issued a statement where she said that he was not ‘promptly informed of both the reasons for arrest and continued detention and of the charges’ until months after.
Speaking to the Guardian, Dijkstal went on to say: “This obligation not only means that the state must inform the detained person of the law and provision under which they are charged, but also the facts and evidence that form the charge.”
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She continued: “With indications of his trial nearing conclusion and a judgment imminent, it is still not clear whether the tweet allegedly supports the charge against him.”
According to a report by the Mirror, his wife, Amaher Nour said: “The authorities asked for his documents and we thought it was just a problem with his visa. He called me from security and told me to fly with the children on to Turkey, our transit stop, and said, ‘I’ll be with you shortly’.
“The night times are the hardest for me when I’m alone and it’s quiet. I keep asking myself why, why, why has this happened, and I can’t get to the bottom of it because it’s not rational in any way. he has no political associations.”
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Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK said: “We strongly condemn this sentence and reiterate our urgent call on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ahmed al-Doush, if he is being held solely for peacefully exercising his human rights.
“He must be allowed to return to his family in the UK without delay. In the meantime, Saudi authorities must uphold his fair trial rights, promptly share his court documents with him and guarantee regular access to both his family and legal counsel.
“We also urge the UK government to take all necessary steps to secure his immediate and unconditional release. The arbitrary detention of another British national abroad cannot be tolerated. Immediate and decisive action is essential.”