Mohammed al-Ajami, known to many by his pen name Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb, has gained fame throughout the Gulf and the Arab world for his poetry. His poems contain liberal and satirical elements, often poking fun at religion and the region's rulers.

On 16 November 2011, Qatari officials summoned al-Ajami to a meeting. Upon his arrival, they arrested him and charged him with insulting the emir and "inciting to overthrow the ruling system." The charges related to lines in several of his poems, including the line "we are all Tunisia in the face of the repressive elite."

Security forces reportedly held al-Ajami in secret detention for months after his arrest. Authorities did not inform him of the official charges against him for more than six months. During interrogations, officials forced al-Ajami to sign documents containing false statements about his poetry. By October 2012, the government had postponed his trial five times and kept him in solitary confinement for at least five months.

Authorities finally handed down a sentence of life imprisonment in a secret trial on 29 November 2012. Amnesty International reported concerns about the fairness of his trial, noting that guards refused to allow activists and journalists into the proceedings at times. The court also heard testimony from "poetry experts" employed by government ministries. On 25 February 2013, an appeals court reduced al-Ajami's life sentence to 15 years. On 20 October 2013, Qatar's highest court upheld the 15-year sentence. His only remaining path to freedom is through a pardon from the emir.

16 November 2015 marks four years since al-Ajami's arrest. Join ADHRB in demanding that the emir pardon and unconditionally release al-Ajami.