Statement Regarding the Final Asylum Hearing of Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi Before the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court

11-th of June 2025 hearing before the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in the case of Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi marks the final domestic legal remedy available to him in Bulgaria concerning his asylum application. With this, all internal legal avenues in the country will be exhausted.

If the SAC upholds the rejection of his asylum claim by the State Agency for Refugees (SAR), the expulsion order issued by the State Agency for National Security (SANS) will enter into legal force. This order was previously confirmed in a single-instance proceeding by the Sofia City Administrative Court.

In the event of a negative outcome, it is expected that Abdulrahman's legal team will submit a new request for interim measures before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), aimed at preventing his deportation to Saudi Arabia. He faces a well-documented and imminent risk of persecution and possibly the death penalty due to his political activism, making the application of interim measures a crucial safeguard under international law.

Should the SAC accept the appeal and overturn SAR’s rejection, the case will likely be returned to the agency with instructions to grant international protection. However, such a development provides no immediate security. Asylum proceedings in Bulgaria are frequently subject to long delays, and even favorable rulings have taken up to two years to result in a final protection decision.

Despite a binding court order from the Sofia City Administrative Court in 2024 mandating Abdulrahman’s immediate release from detention, he remains unlawfully held in the Busmantsi immigration detention center. His continued detention in defiance of judicial rulings highlights a disturbing level of administrative arbitrariness and disregard for the rule of law in Bulgaria.

Abdulrahman’s case is emblematic of broader systemic issues, including the misuse of national security arguments and the failure to implement court decisions. It represents a dangerous precedent not only for asylum seekers but also for human rights defenders across Europe facing transnational repression.