Mohammed Fahd Al-Qahtani
Economist and co-founder, Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)
as of 06 Jun 2026
in Saudi Arabia
"I do not seek a hero's welcome. I seek only my children's embrace."HuMENA Editorial
Issued Saturday, 6 June 2026
§ 01Background and the caseEditorial narrative
Saudi economist and co-founder of ACPRA, jailed in 2013 on a 10-year sentence. Forcibly disappeared for two years after his term expired in 2022 and finally conditionally released in January 2025, subject to a 10-year travel ban.
Background and work
Dr. Mohammed Fahd al-Qahtani is a Saudi economist trained in the United States and a co-founder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), one of the kingdom's first independent human rights organisations. ACPRA built a public archive of arbitrary detention cases, advocated for constitutional reform, and pressed for the rights of political prisoners and their families through plain-language reports, press interviews and direct petitions to the royal court.
Arrest and detention
After years of intermittent harassment, he was placed on trial in 2012 alongside fellow ACPRA co-founder Mohammed al-Bajadi. In March 2013 the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced him to ten years in prison followed by a ten-year travel ban. The charges centred on the founding and work of ACPRA itself: turning public opinion against the authorities, founding an unlicensed organisation, and breaking allegiance to the ruler.
Conviction and imprisonment
He served his sentence at al-Ha'ir prison south of Riyadh. ACPRA was forcibly dissolved during his trial; every one of its co-founders was either imprisoned or forced into exile. His original term expired on 22 November 2022, but he was not released. Instead, the authorities placed him in incommunicado detention and refused to acknowledge his whereabouts. His family in the United States went two years without confirmation that he was alive.
Current status as of 2026
On 7 January 2025, after twelve years and two months in custody, he was conditionally released. The conditions include a ten-year travel ban that prevents him from rejoining his wife Maha al-Qahtani and their five children, all of whom live in the United States. He remains under surveillance and subject to summary recall to detention. He has not resumed any public human rights work; ACPRA itself remains banned.
§ 02Documented chronology8 events on file
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09 Nov 2012Friday
arrest Placed on trial before the Specialised Criminal Court After years of public advocacy through ACPRA, he was formally summoned to the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh and prevented from leaving the country.
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09 Mar 2013Saturday
verdict Sentenced to 10 years on charges tied entirely to his rights work The court convicted him of turning public opinion against the state and founding ACPRA without a licence, imposing a ten-year sentence followed by a ten-year travel ban.
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10 Mar 2013Sunday
other ACPRA dissolved; all co-founders imprisoned or exiled The authorities forcibly disbanded the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association. Every one of its founding members was eventually jailed, fled the country, or both.
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22 Nov 2022Tuesday
other Sentence expires; he is not released His ten-year term concluded on this date. Rather than freeing him, the authorities cut all communication with his family and disappeared him into incommunicado detention.
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15 Oct 2023Sunday
other UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention demands his release After repeated petitions from his family, UN experts issued an opinion finding his continued detention beyond sentence expiry arbitrary under international law.
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09 Nov 2024Saturday
other Reappears alive after two years of enforced disappearance His family received the first sign of life since November 2022 — a brief phone call confirming he was still alive and still in al-Ha'ir prison.
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07 Jan 2025Tuesday
release Conditionally released after 12 years and 2 months He was freed from al-Ha'ir prison subject to a ten-year travel ban that bars him from joining his wife and five children in the United States.
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07 Jan 2026Wednesday
other One year of conditional freedom; travel ban remains in force He continues to live under surveillance and travel restrictions in Riyadh. ACPRA remains banned and he has been unable to resume public human rights work.
§ 04Sentence
§ 05Documented violations4 categories
§ 06Editorial provenanceHuMENA Editorial Board
This case file was compiled by HuMENA's Saudi Arabia research team from primary documentation, public filings, family-supplied legal documents, and confidential partner reporting. Editorial responsibility rests with the HuMENA Editorial Board. Where dates or facts are uncertain, the record errs on the side of the source material and notes uncertainty in the live archive at humena.org.
- Generated
- Saturday, 6 June 2026
- Source dataset retrieved
- 2026-05-12
- Live record (canonical)
- https://dev.humena.org/defenders/mohammed-fahd-al-qahtani/
- Editorial sign-off
- HuMENA Editorial Board
§ 07Take-downs · corrections · partner submissions
HuMENA welcomes corrections, additions, and take-down requests from the defender, their family, or accredited representatives. Material discrepancies are typically addressed within 72 hours.
Editorial · editorial@humena.org
Take-downs & corrections · takedowns@humena.org
Partner submissions (confidential) · partners@humena.org