ABDULRAHMAN
AL-SADHAN
Saudi Red Crescent aid worker forcibly disappeared in March 2018 over an anonymous satirical Twitter account. Sentenced to 20 years in prison in April 2021 followed by a 20-year travel ban; sentence upheld on appeal in October 2021.
- Country
- Saudi Arabia
- Role
- Humanitarian worker
- Arrested
- 12 Mar 2018
- Held at
- Whereabouts unknown
Silhouette in place of portrait. No image is published without explicit consent from the defender or their family.
Imprisoned for
Three thousand+ days.
Days in prison since 12 March 2018. Counter live · updates daily at 00:00 UTC
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Arrest
Seized from Red Crescent offices in Riyadh
State Security agents entered his workplace and removed him without producing a warrant. He was taken to an unknown location and held without acknowledgement of his fate.
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Case update
First phone call to family after 22 months of disappearance
After nearly two years of incommunicado detention, he was permitted a single short call to his family in the United States. He spoke of torture but was cut off.
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Verdict
Sentenced to 20 years in closed-door trial over tweets
The Specialised Criminal Court convicted him on charges connected solely to his anonymous satirical Twitter accounts and imposed a 20-year sentence followed by a 20-year travel ban.
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Case update
Court of Appeal upholds 20-year sentence
The appellate chamber confirmed his conviction in full, prompting a rare public statement of "deep concern" from the United States Department of State.
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Case update
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finds his detention arbitrary
In Opinion 41/2023, the Working Group concluded his deprivation of liberty had no legal basis and called for his immediate release and compensation.
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Case update
Family permitted in-person visit for first time since 2018
A relative was allowed a single supervised visit at al-Ha'ir prison. He appeared thin but alert; his sister Areej continued to press his case from the United States.
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Case update
Eight years in detention; 12 years remaining on sentence
He marked the eighth anniversary of his arrest still in al-Ha'ir. No part of his sentence has been commuted; the tweets remain the only evidence the prosecution ever produced.
Approved
The arrest, and what followed.
Background and work
Abdulrahman al-Sadhan is a humanitarian aid worker who studied economics in the United States before returning to Riyadh to take a position with the Saudi Arabian Red Crescent Society. Outside his day job he ran two anonymous accounts on Twitter that drew large followings for their dry, satirical commentary on Saudi public life — religious bureaucracy, official corruption, and the intersection of state and clerical power. His identity was never publicly known.
Arrest and detention
On 12 March 2018, agents of the Presidency of State Security entered Red Crescent offices in Riyadh and took him into custody without a warrant. He was driven to an unknown location and held incommunicado for almost two years. He was reportedly tortured, including by beating, electric shock and prolonged solitary confinement. His family in the United States went 22 months without any contact before he was finally permitted a single brief phone call on 12 February 2020.
Conviction and imprisonment
His trial was held behind closed doors at the Specialised Criminal Court. He had no meaningful access to a lawyer. In April 2021 the court sentenced him to twenty years in prison followed by a twenty-year travel ban, on charges of "preparing, storing and sending material prejudicial to public order, religious values and public morals" — that is, his tweets. The verdict was upheld on appeal by the Specialised Criminal Court's appellate chamber on 5 October 2021, drawing a rare public rebuke from the United States.
Current status as of 2026
He continues to serve his sentence in al-Ha'ir prison south of Riyadh. He is now 36 years old; he has been detained since he was 27. Communication with his family in the United States is intermittent and routed through monitored channels. His sister Areej al-Sadhan, now based in San Francisco, has become the public face of the campaign for his release. No part of his sentence has been commuted, and the underlying tweets remain the only evidence ever produced.
Sources on file with HuMENA EditorialReading time · 6 minutes
"They took my brother because he made people laugh at power."HuMENA Editorial · 2026
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Compiled by HuMENA's Saudi Arabia research team from primary documentation, public filings, family-supplied legal documents, and confidential partner reporting. Editorial responsibility: HuMENA Editorial Board.
Editorial sign-off · published