Haydee Dijkstal has been instructed to act as international counsel for a Saudi man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia following unfair trial proceedings for exercising his fundamental right to peaceful expression and association.   

In June 2022, Mr Muhammad Al Ghamdi was arrested and detained in Saudi Arabia.  He was charged for expressing his opinions and concerns on the Government’s actions and policies publicly over Twitter, and for viewing and engaging with YouTube channels critical of the Government.   

In accordance with this instruction, Ms Dijkstal submitted a communication to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and raised his case before UN Special Rapporteurs. 

Mr Al Ghamdi was held in solitary confinement for the first four months of his detention, and was left without access to a lawyer for nearly the first year of his detention.  On the charges related to his Twitter and YouTube activity he was tried before the Specialised Criminal Court under Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Terrorism law, with information that his right to a fair trial was severely violated - including his right to an independent and impartial tribunal, his right to legal representation, his right against interrogation without representation, his right to a prepare a defence, and right to communication with family.  On 10 July 2023, he was convicted and sentenced to death for peaceful expressions on social media as a private individual. 

Coverage of the case: 

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/08/29/saudi-arabia-man-sentenced-death-tweets 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/30/saudi-arabia-death-sentence-twitter/944650d4-4741-11ee-b76b-0b6e5e92090d_story.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saudi-arabia-death-sentence-for-criticizing-government-social-media/ 

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-saeed-ghamdi-brother-scholar-sentenced-death-tweets