Wednesday, 23 July 2020 _Saudi authorities have reportedly arrested a writer, a journalist and an activist after they expressed great sympathy over the death of distinguished activist Abdullah al-Hamid as a brutal crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman against the intelligentsia widens in the kingdom.
The London-based group ALQST, which is an independent non-governmental organization advocating human rights in Saudi Arabia, wrote in a post published on its official Twitter page earlier this week that journalist Aqel al-Bahili, writer Abdulaziz al-Dakhil and activist Sultan al-Ajami were all detained in late April after they offered condolences following the death of the co-founder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, an NGO that was dissolved in 2013 upon an order by a court.
Hamid was imprisoned several times for calling for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Saudi Arabia. He died in custody on April 23, after suffering a stroke and going into a coma.
The activist, who suffered from hypertension, was told by a doctor three months before his death that he needed to undergo urgent open-heart surgery.
Two days after Hamid’s death, Bahili tweeted, “May Allah have mercy on Abu Bilal [Hamid] and protect him with the confines of his mercy and May his dwelling be in His spacious gardens, and condolences for the whole family of al-Hamid, his friends and loved ones.”
Bahili was reportedly arrested and taken to maximum-security al-Ha'ir Prison, located approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the capital, Riyadh, without the presence of a lawyer. He has not posted any tweets since April 25.
Meanwhile, in what is perceived as his most recent tweet on April 24, Ajami wrote, “We offer condolences to his family, ourselves, the homeland and humanity by losing a great thinker, revolutionary and reformer.”
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