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Saudi Arabia detains 1,028 foreign prisoners on terrorism charges

July 18, 2019 at 3:13 am

As many as 1,028 foreigners are held by the Saudi authorities on terrorism and harming state security charges, the latest figures about detainees in Saudi prisons revealed.

These represent 19.7 per cent of the total number of detainees held by the kingdom.

According to local newspapers, Yemeni prisoners top the list of foreign detainees with 358 prisoners, followed by Syrians with 259 prisoners, Egyptians with 75 prisoners and Pakistanis with 73 prisoners.

Read: Saudi Arabia to sponsor Hajj for NZ terror victims’ families

The lists of prisoners showed that the number of Saudi citizens accused of terrorism amounted to 4201 prisoners representing 80.3 per cent of all prisoners.

Over the past two years, hundreds of human rights activists have been arrested on terrorism-related charges.

The detainees are reported to have been subjected to severe forms of physical and psychological abuse, including torture, solitary confinement, and denial of travel for their family members. Five have recently died in prison under torture.