

Saudi Arabia: One year after his release from prison, blogger Raif Badawi is still not free
Badawi remains banned from leaving Saudi Arabia for 10 years and expressing his opinions online.

Rights groups call on F1 to disclose human rights clauses amid concerns over sportswashing in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia
IFEX and rights groups warn that Formula 1’s activities in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will only aid in sportswashing abuses if human rights concerns are not addressed.

Saudi Arabia: Call for freedom for Dr. Mohammed Al-Qahtani
The prominent Saudi human rights defender has been forcibly disappeared for more than three months.

Saudi Arabia: Call for release of two Saudi Wikipedians detained since 2020
IFEX and rights groups demand release of Internet activists Osama Khalid, Ziad Al-Sufyani, and others sentenced for online activism.

Saudi Arabia: Government agents infiltrate Wikipedia, sentence independent administrators to prison
Internal Wikimedia investigation results in termination of entire Saudi-based team of administrators.

Saudi Arabia: Escalating use of anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws to stifle free expression
Following US President Biden’s visit, Saudi authorities increased their widespread use of draconian laws to target and retaliate against human rights defenders and dissenting voices.

Saudi Arabia: Influencers’ license, regulation or censorship?
Mandatory license for income-generating content creators may have other hidden objectives, including diversifying the Saudi economy or controlling online speech.

UK should press for release of all prisoners unlawfully held in Saudi Arabia
In a joint letter to the UK Foreign Secretary, rights groups raise the draconian sentences handed to Salma al-Shehab and several others who have been imprisoned solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Saudi Arabia: Ten Egyptian Nubian citizens receive arbitrary prison sentences of up to 18 years
Heavy jail terms handed down for organizers of a public symposium in Riyadh.

Saudi authorities must release women’s rights activist Salma al-Shehab
IFEX joins rights groups in strongly condemning the unlawful sentencing of al-Shehab, which marks a further escalation in the kingdom’s crackdown on free speech.

Saudi Arabia: Activist Salma Al-Shehab sentenced to 34 years for tweets
The outrageous sentence – believed to be the longest ever imposed on a Saudi woman for her peaceful online expression – is an indicator that Saudi leadership is ramping up repression, as it emerges from diplomatic isolation.

Google is moving forward with its data center in Saudi Arabia
Parent company Alphabet rejects a civil society-backed shareholder proposal calling on Google to uphold human rights principles.

Saudi Arabia: Free social media activist Dr. Lina Alsharif
IFEX joins human rights organisations in calling on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Lina Alsharif, who has been arbitrarily detained for over a year as a result of her social media activism. Her right to due process has not been respected and there is great concern for her psychological and physical well-being in Al-Ha’ir prison.

Saudi Arabia: Blogger and human rights defender Raif Badawi released
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) welcomes the release of blogger and human rights defender Raif Badawi, and calls on authorities to lift the ten-year forced travel ban currently imposed on him.