Wife of Briton pleads for Saudi Arabia to release him from ‘arbitrary detention’ | Saudi Arabia

The wife of a British citizen who has been detained in Saudi Arabia since 2024 due to his social media posts begged for his release after his health condition worsened.

In November, the UN working group on arbitrary detention found that Ahmed al-Doush had been arbitrarily detained under international law and recommended his immediate release as well as the payment of compensation. The findings come after an eight-month investigation

His wife Amaher Nour’s request for amnesty, supported by Amnesty International, focuses less on the nature of the trial or the quality of Saudi justice and is more of a personal humanitarian appeal to crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Nour said: “A year and eight months have passed, long enough for all of us to feel the weight of absence, the pain of separation. His return to his children has become a hope that we cling to every day. His return will restore stability to his family and give his children the chance to grow up in their father’s care and arms, instead of living with this painful emptiness in their teenage years.”

The UK Foreign Office told the Guardian: “We are supporting a British man who has been detained in Saudi Arabia and is in contact with his family and local authorities.”

Middle East minister Hamish Falconer has raised the issue with his Saudi counterparts on multiple occasions, officials said.

Britain has sent military assets to Saudi Arabia to help defend the country from Iranian attacks and has pledged to send more to help open the strait.

Al-Doush, a Sudanese-born British citizen, has four children, the youngest of whom is one year old and the others aged 10 and under. Al-Doush was arrested on a family holiday while his wife was pregnant with their fourth child.

Amnesty International stated: “Ahmed’s physical and mental health deteriorated sharply. Chronic restrictions on contact with his family left him deeply isolated and vulnerable. He went on numerous hunger strikes to protest the continued denial of contact with his wife and young children.

“Recently, his condition has deteriorated to a level that has led to fears of serious self-harm that could be life-threatening. His family, legal team and human rights defenders are united in alarm: Without urgent intervention, the consequences could be irreversible.”

The UN working group’s report on al-Dosh was published in March 2026, but instead of following the recommendation, Saudi Arabia confirmed his conviction in April and reduced his sentence to five years. Saudi Arabia said the trial and arrest were in accordance with domestic and international law.

Manchester-based al-Doush was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a specialist criminal court in March last year for social media posts dating back more than five years and his relationship with a critic of the Saudi government, according to the UN working group.

The decision was not notified to his family.

His lawyers said: “It has been difficult for both Ahmed and his family to comprehend the severity of a long prison sentence in a country he does not recognize due to his social media posts.”

The UN working group found al-Dosh’s detention arbitrary because he was being held incommunicado and was not immediately informed of the reasons for his detention. It was also found that he was not brought before a judge for five months after his arrest and was not allowed to meet with his family for two and a half months. He was neither allowed to visit the consulate nor to meet his family until November.

The working group concluded that he was arrested solely because of a social media post and his perceived relationship with an exiled Saudi critic. Al-Doush’s lawyers said he knew the individual socially, but nothing more.

During his interrogation, he was asked about his social media activities. His lawyers said his account has 37 followers and a history of only four posts in total, including a post in 2018 about a third country believed to be Sudan.

Saudi Arabia told the UN that al-Dosh had committed terrorist crimes, including his support of terrorist ideology, his meeting with supporters and followers of terrorist ideology, and his use of his information network to commit terrorist crimes and promote terrorist ideology. He said all appropriate procedures were followed, including access to the consulate and the appointment of a lawyer of his choice, and that the hearing was public and fair.

Haydee Dijkstal, El Doush’s lawyer at 33 Bedford Row, said the UK government “should use the UN resolution to help one of its citizens solve an unjust nightmare”.

The UN said the State Department refused to share any information about al-Dosh with his family for two and a half months, citing data protection laws, a practice that has been repeatedly criticized by families of other current and former detainees.