The amnesty was reportedly ordered directly by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman [Getty]
Exiled Saudi dissidents are free to return to their country without any repercussions, the head of Saudi Arabia‘s State Security Agency has said, citing a directive from Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Speaking on the Riyadh-based MBC channel, Abdulaziz Al-Howairini said the amnesty applies to those who “were merely misled or exploited by malicious parties”, and will not be punished on their return.
“The kingdom welcomes the return of those who call themselves opposition abroad, provided they do not have private rights against them, such as murder, theft, or assault crimes,” Al-Howairini said, referring to charges that can only be dropped by a plaintiff or their family.
The security chief claimed that around 20 percent of the country’s political detainees were jailed at the request of their own relatives.
The amnesty follows the release of a number of political prisoners, some of whom had been detained for years and were serving decades-long sentences.
In January, activists Mohammed al-Qahtani and Essa al-Nukheifi were conditionally released, followed by a spate of amnesties in February.
Among those freed in February was social media influencer Mansour al-Raqiba, who was jailed for 27 years for criticising the country’s ‘Vision 2030’ project, women’s rights activists Salma al-Shehab, who had her 27-year sentence reduced, blogger Ahmed al-Budaiwi and nurse Zeinab al-Rabea, among several others.
However, many prominent activists and public figures remain behind bars.
“The recent releases, which wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless campaigning of activists around the world, are major victories. Yet for them to mark a real turning point in the Saudi authorities’ dire rights record, they must be accompanied by full freedom for the individuals released, as well as the release of all other prisoners of conscience and the halting of new arbitrary arrests,” Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and advocacy at human rights NGO ALQST, said in a statement on the group’s website.
Recent months have also seen some lower-profile Saudi dissidents return to the kingdom, yet many remain sceptical about the new amnesty.
In a video posted to social media, Canada-based dissident Omar Al-Zahrani said he and others would not return to the kingdom, saying recent experiences led him not to trust the promise.
Al-Zahrani added that his relatives and friends have been detained by Saudi authorities since 2018 as a means of pressuring him to come home.
The vlogger, who was a close associate of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said the amnesty is a bid to improve the country’s image and attract foreign investment.
