Writers at Risk Database

Fuad Al-Farhan

On November 21, 2019, Saudi blogger Fuad Al-Farhan was arrested, his house was raided, and his devices seized. Following a brief detention lasting a matter of days, Al-Farhan was… More

Salah Al-Haidar

Al-Haidar was arrested without charge in a wave of arrests in April 2019. While in detention, he has been denied access to a lawyer. He is the son of… More

Abdulaziz Al-Hais

Al-Hais, who had written about the Arab Spring and the roles that intellectuals play in the Middle East, was arrested from his home in November 2019 as part of… More

Writers at Risk Database

Nouf Abdulaziz

Columnist and women’s rights activist Abdulaziz was arrested and detained in June 2018. While in detention, she was reportedly tortured and sexually harassed. In February 2021, after prolonged delays… More

Writers at Risk Database

Waleed Abu Al-Khair

Al-Khair was the first activist prosecuted under a new Saudi Arabian law that introduced overly broad definitions of terrorism, such that it applies to speech. In June 2014, he… More

Writers at Risk Database

Eman Al-Nafjan

Columnist Al-Nafjan was detained in May 2018 in relation to her women's rights advocacy. While in prison, she was reportedly sexually harassed and severly beaten. She was granted temporary… More

Raif Badawi

Raif Badawi

Badawi was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for “insulting Islam” and “founding a liberal website,” Free Saudi Liberals. While detained, he… More

Writers at Risk Database

Ashraf Fayadh

Fayadh, a poet and artist, was jailed on charges of apostasy for writing about humanistic themes in his poetry collection Instructions Within, which explores Fayadh’s experience as a Palestinian… More

Writers at Risk Database

Jamal Khashoggi

After the exiled Saudi columnist's brutal murder in Istanbul in October 2018, journalists and advocacy groups mobilized worldwide to ensure that he would not be forgotten. However, the Saudi… More

Turad Al-Amri

Political commentator Al-Amri has been missing since November 2016 after tweeting out to protest a clampdown on Saudi media, which included blocking the online newspaper he worked for. Authorities… More