16 October 2024
Saudi cartoonist Mohamed Al Ghamdi (“Al Hazza”) sentenced to 23 years in prison
Just as he was about to be released after serving a 6-year prison sentence for his cartoons, Mohamed Al Ghamdi, alias Al Hazza, has just been sentenced to 23 years in prison following the reopening of his trial in December 2023, with no possibility of appeal.
The cartoonist was arrested in February 2018 by the Saudi authorities, who accused him of producing “offensive drawings” for the Qatari media outlet Lusail and publishing messages “hostile” to the Saudi regime and “favourable” to Qatar on social media. These prosecutions took place at a time when Saudi Arabia had cut all ties with Qatar, ties that have since been re-established in 2021. Mohamed Al Ghamdi, who has always contested the charges against him and denounced the fabrication of false accusations, was sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment by a specialised criminal court set up to deal with terrorism-related cases.
Sanad, a London-based human rights organisation in Saudi Arabia, denounces his new 23-year prison sentence and points out that Mohamed Al Ghamdi, who is being held in Dhaban Central Prison in Jeddah, had already been the victim of enforced disappearance for several months, and that he also suffers ill-treatment in detention and a lack of access to healthcare despite significant health problems.
The organisation stresses that his case “illustrates a disturbing climate where no one is really safe; he has become a target simply because he is an artist, nothing else.” It calls for “urgent international action to protect artistic freedom and human rights in Saudi Arabia.”
Cartooning for Peace expresses its support for the urgent action initiated by the Sanad organisation and its solidarity with the cartoonist and his family, who are calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
At a time when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman – who is accused of being behind the murder of journalist Jamal Khasoggi in 2018 – has been invited to Brussels to take part in the first summit between the leaders of the European Union and the Arab countries of the Gulf, which is taking place today and in which French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the European commission Ursula Von der Leyen are notably taking part, Cartooning for Peace is calling for this condemnation not to be overlooked in the discussions.
Ranked 166/180 in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) world press freedom index, Saudi Arabia is a country where there is no free media. Saudi journalists are placed under close surveillance, even abroad. RSF reports that “since 2017, the number of journalists and bloggers behind bars has more than tripled” and that most are imprisoned arbitrarily. In 2024, the country had 24 journalists in detention.
