Ahmed al-Doush has been held for more than four months without charge and has been given no reason for his arrest. The family of a British national held in a Saudi jail without charge for more than four months have spoken about his alleged maltreatment, including the refusal of the UK Foreign Office for two months to share any information about his plight with his pregnant wife.
The Saudi authorities arrested Ahmed al-Doush after a family visit on 31 August, and UK officials have been granted consular access to him only once, in November. He has not been allowed access to a lawyer in Saudi Arabia, and during his detention his wife gave birth to their fourth child. He was refused permission to speak to his wife on the day of the birth.
He is believed to have been in solitary confinement since his arrest and he has been incommunicado for a total of 33 days. The Manchester-based 41-year-old works on a contract for Bank of America as a senior business analyst. His British-based lawyer, Haydee Dijkstal, said he had no history of political activism, focusing instead on his family and his business career.
He has been given no reason for his arrest and has not been charged, but has been cross-examined about his very limited social media accounts. Doush sent out one tweet concerning Sudan, from which he originally hails, but it contained no mention of Saudi Arabia, or its support for one faction in the country’s civil war, and his account had just 37 followers. His Instagram account is private.
