Between 2011 and 2013, Saudi law student Abdulrahman al-Khalidi was a political activist and a known dissident. He was active in the field of human rights, advocating for democratic reforms and participating in several civil society campaigns with prominent Saudi figures such as Omar Abdulaziz al-Zahrani and Jamal Khashoggi. Following a campaign of mass arrests undertaken by the Saudi authorities against his immediate surroundings in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, he decided to flee the country and seek refuge abroad. Following his stays in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, he decided to head to the European Union in 2021 with the intention of applying for asylum.

Shortly after crossing the Turkish-Bulgarian border on 23 October 2021, he was arrested in Bulgaria for entering without a visa authorisation. He is currently detained in Busmantsi Detention Centre, near Sofia’s International Airport.

On November 16, 2021, he applied for asylum, but his request was denied by the Bulgarian Refugee State Agency. The Agency claimed that “official authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have taken” “measures to democratise society” and considered that “the personal motives he referred to for his desire to live in the Republic of Bulgaria cannot be evaluated as humanitarian.” He challenged the refusal of his asylum application by appealing to the Administrative Court in Sofia.

On 20 February 2023, the Administrative Court in Sofia rejected the appeal and upheld the decision of the Agency. The Administrative Court considered that the Bulgarian Refugee State Agency correctly assessed that Mr. al-Khalidi had no well-founded fear of persecution and he did not belong to any group that is at risk of persecution in Saudi Arabia.

His case is currently pending before the Administrative Supreme Court. The court is expected to deliver a final decision in the near future. In the event that the Supreme Court upholds the refusal of his asylum application, Mr. al-Khalidi would be consequently subjected to deportation proceedings to his country of origin. Should Mr. al-Khalidi be sent back to Saudi Arabia, he would face a well-founded fear of being subjected to torture, ill-treatments and even the death penalty for his past activism in Saudi Arabia.

On May 11, 2023, MENA Rights Group submitted his case to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

On 19 September 2023, Mr. al-Khalidi was heard before the Administrative Supreme Court. MENA Rights Group requested the intervention of UN Special Procedures mandate holders on 20 September 2023.

On 27 September 2023, the Administrative Supreme court rendered its judgment, and decided to annul any lower decision and send it back to the lower courts to be retried because of procedural vices and errors, namely the fact that there was no translation available into Arabic and that he was wrongfully considered to be Syrian.

On 12 December 2023, his case on his request for asylum was heard again before the lower administrative court of Sofia-City. The Court decided to send his case back to the State Refugee Agency for reconsideration.

Mr Al Khalidi stood a hearing before the Administrative Court in Sofia on 18 January 2024 regarding his detention. The decision was rendered very quickly the day after, and his release was ordered.

However, on 22 January 2024, an administrative decision was issued by the National State Security Agency around 10 AM (Brussels Time) where his liberation was refused. The grounds for refusal were not substantiated.

On 26 January 2024, the administrative court refused his release order.

On 7 February 2024, Mr al-Khalidi was handed an untranslated decision for his immediate deportation. The decision is reportedly issued by the National Security State Agency. He was instructed to sign it, which he refused. Mr al-Khalidi is therefore at imminent risk of deportation.