Two prisoners held in Roumieh prison, east of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, died in less than 48 hours due to very poor detention conditions, detainees being denied of minimum necessities of living, Alkarama learnt from its sources. 

The prison in which conditions are further deteriorating is marked by an increasing frequency of deaths and alleged suicides. 

On 8 May 2023, a Saudi court decided to postpone the session of the academic and prominent lawyer, Mohammed bin Fahd Al Qahtani’s trial whose news was cut off before the end of his unfair sentence in November 2022. 

The wife of the Saudi activist noted on Twitter that the Specialized Criminal Court postponed the trial session, the charges against him and the reasons for not bringing him to court remaining unknown. She added that he is maintained in detention and prevented to communicate with his family or lawyer. 

On 10 May 2023, Alkarama submitted an urgent appeal to the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances to shed light on the fate of Aimidoula WAILI and Nuermaimaiti RUZE, Chinese citizens of Uyghurs origin, who have been missing since their transfer to the capital Riyadh in March 2023.   

Arrested during a religious pilgrimage

Mustafa Taleb Younes Abdelkhalek Al Darsi, 55, was released late in the afternoon on 30 April 2023 after eight years of arbitrary detention in a worrying state of health, Alkarama learned from family sources. 

Arrest by RADAA militias 

On 21 April 2023, Alkarama submitted its contribution to the draft general comment of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) on Article 4 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT).

Alkarama condemns the forced deportation by the Lebanese authorities of dozens of Syrian refugees to areas controlled by the Syrian regime, despite the existence of the risk of torture -and extrajudicial executions- in violation of the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in the Convention against Torture. 

Human rights sources reported that the Lebanese authorities have forcibly deported about 150 Syrian refugees to their country through the "Masnaa" crossing point since April 19, 2023. 

On 12 April 2023, Alkarama, the Tunisian Association of Victims of Torture (AVTT) and Mr. BHIRI's lawyer Kilani Abdarrazak addressed the UN Special Rapporteur on torture regarding the situation of Mr. Bechir AKREMI, Tunisian magistrate and Mr. Noureddine BHIRI, lawyer and former Minister of Justice, both victims of torture during their arrest and/or detention by the police.

Arrest and detention of Mr. Bechir Akremi

Alkarama shares the joy of the families of four Yemeni journalists following their release after eight years of suffering and ill-treatment in Houthi prisons, under the terms of a prisoner and abductee exchange agreement under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, this does not exempt the perpetrators of violations from their responsibility. 

On 13 April 2023, Alkarama submitted its report to the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) regarding two cases of reprisals in Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi authorities have released Yemeni journalist Marwan Al Muraisy after nearly five years of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and suffering inflicted on his family. The authorities decided to deport him to Yemen without granting him compensation for the violations he had suffered.