Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Saudi Arabia

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni

Reports of Torture: Yes

Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes

Sentence: 20 Years’ Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: November//2022

Date of Sentencing: June//2024

Date of Release: February//2025

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Criticizing Religious Freedom Conditions Online Activity

Nature of Charges: Insulting Public Officials & Institutions Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials Terrorism

Assad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi

Extra Bio Info:

Assad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi has been sentenced on religious-based charges related to social media activity criticizing the Saudi government, including the authorities’ sidelining of the Saudi religious establishment as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

In November 2022, Saudi security forces arbitrarily detained al-Ghamdi from his home in the Al-Hamdaniya neighborhood of Jeddah. During the arrest, authorities reportedly confiscated electronic devices, computers, and books for al-Ghamdi’s past tweets expressing condolences of a Saudi human rights activist in addition to the critique of the government.

In June 2024, the Special Criminalized Court sentenced al-Ghamdi to 20 years in prison and placed a travel ban on him on several charges under the Counterterrorism Law for his criticism of the Saudi government. These charges include insulting religion and the King’s justice (Art. 30), endorsing a terrorist ideology (Art. 34), attempting to destabilize the system, and endangering national unity. 

In February 2025, Saudi authorities released al-Ghamdi from prison.

Asaad is the brother of Dr. Saeed Nasser al-Ghamdi, a Saudi religious scholar and opposition figure residing in London, and the brother of Mohammed al-Ghamdi, who is imprisoned and has been sentenced to death for expressing support for religious prisoners of conscience. In the course of his detention over the last year and a half, Assad was reportedly subject to torture and medical neglect in multiple detention centers, including Dhahban and Al-Hayer prisons.

Related Cases: Mohammed al-Ghamdi

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