Saudi hands prison terms to 3 sons of Sheikh Safar Al-Hawali

Saudi sentenced the three sons of prominent Sheikh Safar Al-Hawali to four years in prison, Twitter account Prisoners of Conscious in the Kingdom revealed yesterday.

Al-Hawali, his brother, and three of his sons have been in prison since July 2018, following the publication of an online version of a new book that criticised the royal family.

No official comment was made by the Saudi authorities on the issue.

In March last year, Al-Hawali, who is over 70 years old and suffering from chronic diseases, completed 1,000 days in prison. However, he has only just been charged.

In February 2019, Saudi authorities released his youngest son after detaining him for seven months, however, his three older sons remained in prison.

In his book, the cleric criticised the ruling family’s misuse of billions of dollars in funds paid to corrupt Arab regimes, including in Egypt, Syria, and Yemen. In addition to funds paid to former US President Donald Trump when he visited Riyadh.

READ: Saudi authorities arrest senior cleric over tweet