ACPRA member Saleh Al Ashwan still subjected to a travel ban
Name(s):
Saleh Ashwan Al Ashwan
Status:
Free
Year of birth:
1986
Profession:
Member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA).
Nationality:
Saudi
Date of arrest:
Human rights defender Saleh Al Ashwan was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by a five-year travel ban following an unfair trial before the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) in 2016. He was convicted on the basis of charges that stemmed directly from the exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association. He was released in April 2018 but remains subject to a travel ban.
Saleh Al Ashwan is a Saudi human rights defenders, who specifically worked on the detention of women in his country. He is also a member of ACPRA*.
On July 7, 2012, Al Ashwan was arrested in Riyadh as he left a mosque after attending dawn prayer. He then disappeared and remained missing for two months, until his family and lawyer learnt that he was being held at Al Ha’ir prison in Riyadh. He has been subjected to torture and ill-treatment in detention. He was held without charge or trial from 2012 to 2016.
In 2016, he was sentenced by the SCC to five years in prison, followed by a five-year travel ban and a 10,000 Saudi Riyals (≈ 27,000 USD) fine.
Al Ashwan was released on April 6, 2018 after serving his five-year sentence but remains subject to a travel ban.
*The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) is a human rights organisation founded on October 12, 2009, which filed local lawsuits against the Ministry of Interior and reported human rights violations to the UN Human Rights Council and the Special Procedures. The organisation peacefully advocated for a constitutional monarchy, a universally elected parliament, an independent judiciary and for the protection of fair trial rights in the country.
Despite the association’s efforts to register with the authorities, it was never granted an official licence to operate. ACPRA was banned by a court decision dated April 9, 2013, which ordered the organisation’s dissolution following an arbitrary process that could not be challenged.
| Name(s): |
Saleh Ashwan Al Ashwan
|
| Status: |
Free
|
| Year of birth: |
1986
|
| Profession: |
Member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA).
|
| Nationality: |
Saudi
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Saleh Al Ashwan is a Saudi human rights defenders, who specifically worked on the detention of women in his country. He is also a member of ACPRA*.
On July 7, 2012, Al Ashwan was arrested in Riyadh as he left a mosque after attending dawn prayer. He then disappeared and remained missing for two months, until his family and lawyer learnt that he was being held at Al Ha’ir prison in Riyadh. He has been subjected to torture and ill-treatment in detention. He was held without charge or trial from 2012 to 2016.
In 2016, he was sentenced by the SCC to five years in prison, followed by a five-year travel ban and a 10,000 Saudi Riyals (≈ 27,000 USD) fine.
Al Ashwan was released on April 6, 2018 after serving his five-year sentence but remains subject to a travel ban.
*The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) is a human rights organisation founded on October 12, 2009, which filed local lawsuits against the Ministry of Interior and reported human rights violations to the UN Human Rights Council and the Special Procedures. The organisation peacefully advocated for a constitutional monarchy, a universally elected parliament, an independent judiciary and for the protection of fair trial rights in the country.
Despite the association’s efforts to register with the authorities, it was never granted an official licence to operate. ACPRA was banned by a court decision dated April 9, 2013, which ordered the organisation’s dissolution following an arbitrary process that could not be challenged.
