Geneva, The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has declared that the prolonged solitary confinement of Safar bin Abdulrahman al-Hawali, a religious scholar and critic in Saudi Arabia, without trial and necessary accommodations for his disability, amounts to violations of rights including arbitrary detention and torture. The Committee’s findings come after a complaint by al-Hawali’s nephew regarding his arrest in 2018 and ongoing detention as punishment for his peaceful criticism of the Crown Prince.
According to Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, al-Hawali, now aged 76 and suffering from severe health issues due to strokes, faces a range of human rights abuses. His conditions have led to permanent impairments affecting his communication, mobility, and self-care. Despite his inability to communicate and move independently, necessary accommodations have not been provided in detention, leading to significant deterioration in his health.
The Committee criticized the delays in acknowledging al-Hawali’s whereabouts and the judicial process, finding the treatment and detention conditions he endured to constitute an enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention. The Committee urged Saudi Arabia to review al-Hawali’s case to ensure a fair trial or his release and to cease any acts of reprisal against him and his family.