40 NGOs urge Saudi authorities to release free speech detainees ahead of IGF

According to a joint statement published today, forty NGOs, including Amnesty International, have called on Saudi Arabia to release individuals arbitrarily detained for expressing their views online ahead of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Riyadh, scheduled for December 15-19, 2024.

In their statement, the organizations highlighted the hypocrisy of Saudi Arabia hosting a forum on digital public policy and human rights while continuing to suppress freedom of expression.

Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, emphasized that Saudi authorities have 100 days to demonstrate a genuine commitment to human rights by releasing those imprisoned for online dissent, warning that without these actions, the IGF would appear to be a mere public relations exercise for the Saudi government.

Concerns have been raised by civil society activists and human rights defenders about attending the conference in Saudi Arabia, fearing potential arrest, harassment, or surveillance due to the country’s history of silencing critics.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has intensified its crackdown on online dissent, with severe punishments for those expressing critical views. Notable cases include Salma al-Shehab, sentenced to 27 years in prison for tweeting in support of women’s rights, and Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, sentenced to 20 years for satirical tweets.

Amnesty International is calling for a reform of vague laws like the Anti-Cyber Crime Law, which are used to criminalize free expression, and an end to the repression of online and offline critics if Saudi Arabia wants to be seen as a leader in digital public policy.