Unveiling the Plight of “Hamas Detainees in Saudi Arabia”: A Social Media Campaign for Justice
Watan-Activists on social media have launched the hashtag “Hamas Detainees in Saudi Arabia,” urging pressure on Saudi authorities to reveal the fate of approximately 60 Palestinians detained in Riyadh on charges of “supporting the Islamic resistance movement, Hamas.” The campaign aims to secure their release.
The campaigners highlighted the degrading conditions faced by these detainees, citing reports from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, which documented numerous and serious violations of their rights in legal procedures. These violations include enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and solitary confinement.
In September 2019, Saudi Arabia conducted a series of arrests affecting around 70 residents and visitors of Palestinian origin. Among them was Hamas representative in the Kingdom, 85-year-old Mohammed al-Khudari, who was suffering from cancer. He was later released, along with his son, but other Jordanian and Palestinian detainees were also released, leaving approximately 60 Palestinians still in the Kingdom’s prisons.
https://twitter.com/yementag2020/status/1727397649161298056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727397649161298056%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
Calls for the release of Hamas detainees in Saudi Arabia
In August 2021, the Saudi criminal court sentenced Al-Khudari to 15 years in prison as part of judgments that affected 69 Jordanians and Palestinians. The sentences varied between acquittals and imprisonment for up to 22 years. Later, the court reduced Al-Khudari’s prison sentence to 3 years before he and his son were released.
https://twitter.com/anesmansory/status/1727412315040133500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727412315040133500%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
Yemeni journalist Anis Mansour recalled previous statements by Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas (before the release of Al-Khudari), in which Haniyeh mentioned that there were more than 60 detainees still in Saudi prisons on charges of supporting the resistance. Mansour described these charges as ones that the Arab mind cannot comprehend.
Mansour mentioned that investigation files and records were collected and handed over to the Mossad, with him expressing dismay, “Where has the sister reached?!”
In the context of his participation in the hashtag “Hamas Detainees in Saudi Arabia,” the Yemeni journalist added that “the media campaigns and instigation adopted by Saudi media outlets or those affiliated with them against Hamas and the forces of resistance have yielded opposite results.
https://twitter.com/anesmansory/status/1727411459666170144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727411459666170144%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
Dangerous steps that marred the image of the Kingdom. He added that these campaigns “contributed to tarnishing the image of the Saudi political system in the eyes of Arab and Islamic peoples.”
He also recalled the words of Khaled Meshaal at that time: “It is not right for a state to come and hold me accountable because, by God, I adhere to Palestine or because I engage in resistance. They are mistaken in what they are doing. If they consider the presence of more than 60 detainees a burden, let them release them, and I ask them to leave the Kingdom, but don’t arrest them.”
https://twitter.com/anesmansory/status/1727390281329414335?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727390281329414335%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
Journalist Tawfiq Ahmed posted a picture of a “Palestinian passport held captive” with the Saudi flag in the background, symbolizing the Palestinian detainees in the prisons of the Kingdom.
https://twitter.com/SSSSRR101/status/1727396527407079506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727396527407079506%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
Ahmed wrote in a tweet on the platform: “Saudi authorities have accused many opinion detainees and those opposed to normalization with the Zionist entity of terrorism and supporting terrorist groups. Most of them are still under arbitrary detention, and the Palestinian detainees are a vivid example of this.”
https://twitter.com/saleh_binali/status/1727406053795782705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727406053795782705%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
Saleh Mansur Al-Yafi also wrote: “60 Palestinian detainees in Saudi prisons on the pretext of their affiliation with the Hamas movement. Then they come and ask, ‘Why does Hamas deal with Iran?’ You are the ones who made them turn away from you because of your wrong policies!”
https://twitter.com/saleh_binali/status/1727413435351367727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727413435351367727%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
https://twitter.com/saleh_binali/status/1727413435351367727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727413435351367727%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
In another tweet, Al-Yafi clarified that Hamas is “a Palestinian jihadist movement with no activities outside of Palestine. They seek assistance in confronting the Zionist occupation. Instead of standing by them and supporting them, they chose to torment and politically and media-wise fight them, standing by the Zionist enemy!”
Blogger Balqis also participated in the hashtag, confirming that “the Palestinian detainees in Saudi Arabia include students, residents, academics, and businessmen. Their accounts have been frozen, and they have been prevented from traveling. Since their detention, they have been subjected, according to Hamas at that time, to various forms of torture, and they are being interrogated harshly.”
https://twitter.com/Balqee1s/status/1727387458760065209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727387458760065209%7Ctwgr%5Ed87312ff21070914b9a267cab9369bf387fdf13c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.watanserb.com%2F2023%2F11%2F22%2FD982D8B6D98AD8A9-D985D8B9D8AAD982D984D98A-D8ADD985D8A7D8B3-D8A8D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98AD8A9-D8AAD8B9D988D8AF-D984D984D988D8A7%2F
It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia has not responded to all pleas and mediations, despite the deteriorating health conditions of many detainees. Their families are prohibited from speaking to the media, and those few who have been released are reluctant to speak out.
