Prisoners of Conscience releases latest data on Saudi political prisoners

The Prisoners of Conscience Twitter account, which reports on political prisoners in Saudi Arabia, has released the latest figures of scholars, intellectuals and activists detained by the Saudi authorities.

According to the account, as many as 60 preachers and scholars, 50 university professors, and more than 10 lawyers have been arrested by the Saudi authorities.

The economist Essam Al-Zamil (#عصام_الزامل) is in jail with no charges since 12/09/2017 just because he tried to give advice for not selling #Aramco !! pic.twitter.com/fNspCIOBqu

— Prisoners of Conscience (@m3takl_en) May 12, 2018

As many as 20 human rights activists are still detained for defending human rights.

The account noted that 25 journalists and 40 writers are in detention, while the number of detained PhD holders has reached 60 people.

Read: Number of prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia increases to 2,613

The Saudi authorities have not issued any official charges against most of the detainees, but newspapers and media outlets close to the Saudi regime have accused the detainees of working on behalf of foreign parties and seeking to destroy the country.

Since taking office in June 2017, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched a large-scale arrest campaign against several human rights activists, journalists, and moderate preachers.

International human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have demanded the Saudi authorities immediately disclose the detainees whereabouts, allow them to contact their families and lawyers, and to release them immediately.