Additional Name(s): Shaghayegh Khanehzarrin, شقایق خانه زرین
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Bahá`í
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: June/26/2022
Date of Release: July/26/2022
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Shaghayegh Khaneh-Zarin was detained in relation to her religious belief and activity.
On June 26, 2022, security forces in Shiraz arrested Khaneh-Zarin and two others and took them to an unknown location.
In July 2022, it was reported that Khaneh-Zarin had contracted COVID-19 while imprisoned.
On July 26, 2022, Khaneh-Zarin was reportedly released on bail.
Related Cases: Zhila Sharafi Nasrabadi, Negar Ighani
خبرگزاری هرانا, Tweet, July 26, 2022
"علیرغم ابتلا به کرونا؛ تداوم بازداشت سه شهروند بهائی در شیراز" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"44 Iranian Baha’is arrested, arraigned or jailed in June as leading human rights figure says situation is “getting worse”" Bahá’í International Community
"تداوم بازداشت و بلاتکلیفی سه شهروند بهائی در شیراز" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Three Baha’i Citizens Arrested in Shiraz" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
Jul 1, 2022
This op-ed was originally published by Newsweek on July 1, 2022.
By USCIRF Commissioner Frank R. Wolf and Rep. Jim McGovern
On March 11, 2022, Saudi Arabia freed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi following a 10-year prison sentence for peacefully expressing his beliefs. We come from different political parties but are united in our advocacy for Badawi through the prisoner of conscience projects of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. While he no longer is languishing in Dhahban Central Prison, our advocacy will not be finished until Badawi joins his wife Ensaf and three children, Terad, Miriyam, and Najwa, in Canada where they found sanctuary in 2013. A Saudi 10-year travel ban stands in his way. During his trip this month to Saudi Arabia, President Joe Biden should ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to lift this ban immediately.
Before his detention, Badawi ran a website, Free Saudi Liberals, that hosted debates on political and religious issues in Saudi Arabia and published content supporting secularism and criticizing the Saudi government's religious authorities and their interpretation of Islam. The government responded by charging him in 2008 with insulting Islam, and in 2009 froze his assets and issued a travel ban. Three years later, in June 2012, he was arrested and put on trial that December. The Saudi courts originally recommended charging him with apostasy—punishable by death—but later dropped that charge. Badawi was convicted in May 2014 on spurious charges, including insulting Islam, and sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence, 1,000 lashes, a fine of more than $250,000, a 10-year media ban, and a 10-year travel ban to be imposed following his release.
While in prison, Badawi was put in solitary confinement and denied contact with his family. In January 2015, he received 50 lashes outside a Jeddah mosque. Thankfully, the international outcry was such that he received no additional lashings, and in 2020, the Saudi government banned flogging as a punishment. Badawi conducted a four-day hunger strike in September 2019 after being denied access to his books and medicine. Saudi prison officials have also subjected Badawi's lawyer, Waleed abu al-Khair, to solitary confinement and mistreatment in prison. Al-Khair is serving a 15-year sentence for creating the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association without a permit, inciting public opinion against the state, and for representing Badawi. We urge the Saudi government to release al-Khair as well.
The continued restrictions on Raif Badawi and Waleed abu al-Khair seriously undercut the Saudi government's narrative of transformative change under the auspices of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030. Recently, prominent Saudis have expressed frustration over the Biden administration's attention to human rights issues, expressing concern about a decline in the U.S.-Saudi relationship at a time when regional threats from Iran are significant. In the United States, some pundits have suggested that centering human rights in U.S. foreign policy is unrealistic in the wake of global oil market instability.
Genuine partnership with the United States, however, must be rooted in a common respect for human rights, including the protection of freedom of religion or belief enshrined in international law. Meaningful social progress in Saudi Arabia will not happen overnight given the continued and severe limitations on religious freedom. Non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia cannot conduct public worship. Shiite Muslims face regular discrimination in education, employment, and the judiciary, and lack access to senior positions in the government and military. Male guardianship laws justified on religious grounds position women as legal minors for life. Against this background, allowing Badawi to join his family in Canada would send a powerful signal that the Saudi government is committed to progress and ongoing reforms.
Badawi's son Terad recently created a social media hashtag, #LiftRaifTravelBan, so his dad "can taste freedom and see his children again." We call on the Saudi government to make this a reality.
Additional Name(s): عبدالرحمن السدحان
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Saudi Arabia
Ethnic Group: Arab
Religion or Belief: Unspecified
Reports of Torture: Yes
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 20 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: March/12/2018
Date of Sentencing: April/5/2021
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Criticizing Religious Freedom Conditions Expression about Religion
Nature of Charges: Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials
Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan is imprisoned for his public satire criticizing conservative religious establishments and figures.
On March 12, 2018, security agents from the Presidency of State Security reportedly arrested Al-Sadhan, a humanitarian aid worker, from his workplace at the Red Crescent Society in Riyadh. Authorities accused Al-Sadhan of running two anonymous Twitter accounts known for mocking and being critical of public officials, religious establishments, the connection between religion and politics, and other social and economic issues facing the country. One of the accounts assumed the persona of an online, conservative religious cleric, inspired by a character from a famous Saudi comedy show. Al-Sadhan was held incommunicado for two years before being allowed to make a one-minute phone call to his family. Following that call, he was held incommunicado for another year. He is currently being held incommunicado.
On April 5, 2021, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in a closed-door trial sentenced Al-Sadhan to 20 years in prison followed by a 20-year travel ban on charges related to his peaceful online activism and expression. Charges included “preparing, storing and sending material prejudicial to public order and religious values." Al-Sadhan was denied proper due process and adequate legal counsel.
On October 5, 2021, an appeals court upheld Al-Sadhan’s sentence.
In September 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Al-Sadhan's detention arbitrary and called for his immediate release.
Al-Sadhan has reportedly been subjected to severe torture and prolonged periods of solitary confinement.
Al-Sadhan is a former U.S. resident. His mother and sister are both U.S. citizens.
USCIRF Country Update: Religious Freedom Conditions in Saudi Arabia December 2022
“Employee of Saudi Red Crescent sentenced to 20 years in prison after three years of disappearance” MENA Rights Group
"Opinion No. 30/2022 concerning Abdulrahman Al Sadhan (Saudi Arabia)" UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Saudi Arabia U.S. Department of State
“Saudi appeals court upholds lengthy sentence for aid worker” Reuters
“Friend or Foe?: Saudi Arabian Government Repression in the US and Worldwide” The Freedom Initiative
"Saudi Arabia: Repression Rages on Despite Releases" Human Rights Watch
“Saudi Arabia: Release aid worker sentenced to 20 years: Abdulrahman al-Sadhan” Amnesty International
"ABA Presidential Letter to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken re. Human Rights Abuses in Saudi Arabia" American Bar Association (ABA)
“The Sentencing of Saudi Humanitarian Aid Worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan” U.S. Department of State