Saudi Man Jailed for Protesting Dance Club Next to His Residence

Translated by Staff, Agencies

Saudi authorities sentenced Hizam Al-Ahmari, an employee at Jeddah Port, to 4 years in prison with an 80,000 riyals [21.3 thousand dollars] fine, after he was arrested in February 2019.

On February 10, 2019, Al-Ahmari was arrested after he had released a video rejecting the presence of a dance club next to his residence. In the video is heard saying, “How can I raise my daughters next to a dance club!”

The Saudi authorities had not confirmed the apprehension and sentencing of Al-Ahmari, in the same manner it behaves in accordance to the various arbitrary detentions it commits.

Saudi Arabia does not usually announce the numbers or the conditions of the prisoners of conscience or human rights advocates; it also refuses to allow rights organizations to monitor the conditions of the detainees.

On its Twitter account, the Prisoners of Conscience, a rights group that monitors the situation of detainees in Saudi Arabia, stated that various lawyers refused to defend Al-Ahmari, in fear of reprisal – arrest or revocation of their licenses to practice their profession – by the Saudi authorities.