On December 21, 2016, the Saudi Arabian secret police detained two Sudanese nationals who were residing and working legally in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Qasim Mohamed Sid-Ahmed and Waleed Imam Hassan Taha, have been held without charge or representation by the KSA since their detention. Their supposed crime? Posting messages of solidarity on social media for the current, non-violent opposition of the dictatorial regime in Sudan. Neither man is a member of any political party or organization, they simply saw what was happening in their home country and began to voice their opinion online.

The current mass movement in Sudan is demanding the return of democracy and rule of law. Since the call for countrywide civil disobedience in Sudan last November, the Sudanese National Intelligence Security Service (NISS) has cracked down viciously on popular opposition, arbitrarily arresting and detaining hundreds of Sudanese nationals and banning/shuttering several independent daily newspapers. Torture, imprisonment without charge, and other violations in NISS custody have been widely documented by international human rights groups. Human Rights Watch have called for the U.N. Human Rights Council to send an investigation team to Sudan, noting:

“Across Sudan, the rights to freedom of association and assembly are severely restricted, as the security forces repeatedly used excessive, including lethal, force against peaceful protesters.

The National Intelligence and Security Service has sweeping powers of arrest and detention, and routinely tortures and otherwise ill-treats detainees.”

Qasim and Waleed’s families and their attorneys have not been permitted any contact with them nor do they know their whereabouts.  Since it is known that the Sudanese regime has been extending their reach beyond its national boarders, their families feel strongly that the KSA detained them at the behest of the NISS and may be being pressured to deport them to Sudan. If this occurs, they feel certain that they would face imprisonment, torture or worse for their social media activism.

Join us the families and friends of Qasim and Waleed to call for:

• The immediate release of the Sudanese activists detained by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at behest of Sudanese government and facing torture
• The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assure that under no circumstance will these detainees be deported to Sudan which we believe would put them in great peril
• And, that both detainees are protected from any ill-treatment and granted immediate and regular access to their families and attorneys