What began as a case of a fake pilgrimage visa to Mecca, of which Mr Amr Abdelfattah and his wife were victims in France, descended into absolute arbitrariness following a police check near the Grand Mosque.
Alkarama denounced this when submitting the case to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on 24 August 2026. Mr Abdelfattah, a 41-year-old married father of three, postdoctoral researcher and computer scientist, has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for over two years on terrorism charges. He was arrested on 16 June 2024 following a verbal altercation with a police officer conducting a check on him.
The French engineer had strongly protested against the officer's disrespectful and aggressive behaviour. For this reason, he was taken to the local police station where he was accused of possessing a fake pilgrimage visa and, more importantly, of criticising and reprimanding the officer for his aggressive conduct.
The following day, he was transferred to the high-security Dhahban prison near Jeddah, where he was held in incommunicado detention for over three months, completely isolated from the outside world. Throughout interrogations conducted without a lawyer and under humiliating conditions, the case, which was initially related to a fake visa and alleged insults against a police officer, was transformed into a terrorism case despite the complete absence of evidence or material elements.
Despite several consular visits since June 2024, Mr Abdelfattah has continued to suffer bullying and ill-treatment during his detention, and has not received adequate protection or humane treatment.
On 25 August, he was finally brought before the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh — an extraordinary tribunal that handles terrorism cases — which sentenced him to eight years in prison for 'insulting the Saudi government', in violation of all guarantees of a fair trial.
At the request of the victim's family, Alkarama initially submitted his case to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, compelling the Saudi government to officially acknowledge his detention. Nevertheless, this official recognition did not prevent Mr Amr Abdelfattah from being subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. He was so badly beaten by prison guards that he had to be urgently evacuated to hospital. In its communication to the UN experts, Alkarama highlighted the multiple and serious violations of the victim's fundamental rights, particularly his right to be treated humanely and his right to a fair trial.
Alkarama calls on the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to urge the Saudi authorities to release Mr Abdelfattah immediately and honour their international human rights obligations. Alkarama also calls on the French government to pay full attention to this case, to intervene urgently with the Saudi authorities to secure Mr Abdelfattah's release, and to guarantee the protection of his fundamental rights in accordance with its obligations.