Mohammed al-Bajadi is a 36-year-old businessman, a father of two, and a human rights activist and founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). He also founded the “Forum for Cultural Debate”, a group that formerly met weekly to discuss the promotion of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
He was previously arrested on 4 September 2007, apparently in connection with his human rights activities, but later released. He was rearrested on 21 March 2011, a day after he went to a protest outside the Interior Ministry in Riyadh. The protest was attended by scores of men and women who were calling for the release of their male relatives detained for years without charge or trial. Mohammed al-Bajadi had tweeted messages about the protest beforehand. He was initially sentenced to four years in prison, but his sentence was overturned and he is currently facing a retrial before the SCC.
He is a prisoner of conscience currently detained at al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh where he says he has been ill-treated.
