A criminal court in Riyadh on March 9 sentenced two Saudi Arabian human rights activists to at least 10 years in prison. The activists were found guilty [4] earlier that day of sedition, providing foreign media with inaccurate information, founding and operating an unlicensed human rights organization and other criminal offenses. Mohammed al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamid founded [5] the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, a group that documented human rights abuses, and the group has been ordered to disband. Al-Qahtani was sentenced to 10 years in prison and received a 10-year travel ban. Al-Hamid was sentenced to five years in prison, ordered to serve six years of a sentence from which he he had previously been pardoned, and received a five-year travel ban. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information [6] (ANHRI) has demanded the immediate release [7] of the activists. Both men will remain in detention until a ruling on their appeal next month.
From Jurist [8], March 10. Used with permission.
