Saleh al-Ashwan () is a member of the

Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (''ACPRA'') ( ar, جمعية الحقوق المدنية والسياسية في السعودية) is a Saudi Arabian human rights non-governmental organisation created in 2009. On 9 March 2013, the ...

, an organization that has advocated for the release of

political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

and greater respect for

human rights in Saudi Arabia Human rights in Saudi Arabia are a topic of concern and controversy. The Saudi government, which mandates both Muslim and non-Muslim observance of Islamic law under the absolute rule of the House of Saud, has been accused of and denounced by var ...

and that was banned in March 2013. Saudi authorities arrested al-Ashwan in July 2012 for defending

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and held him without trial or access to lawyers for nearly four years, while confiscating his electronic devices. During his first two months of detention he was held incommunicado and Saudi activists allege that he was tortured, beaten, as well as stripped and suspended by his limbs from the ceiling of an interrogation room. In 2016 a Saudi court sentenced al-Ashwan to five years in prison and a five-year ban on travel abroad. He is currently held in al-Ha’ir prison south of Riyadh. Due to these abuses, he is considered to be a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashwan, Saleh Saudi Arabian human rights activists Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Saudi Arabia Living people Saudi Arabian prisoners and detainees People of the Arab Spring Year of birth missing (living people)