MEDC

The Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC) welcomes the return of U.S. citizen Saad Almadi to the United States following the lifting of his travel ban by Saudi authorities. We urge the Trump administration to secure the release of other U.S. citizens wrongfully detained by U.S. allies in the Middle East and North Africa, who are currently suffering under the same unjust fate Almadi had been experiencing the past several years.

(Beirut, November 10, 2025) – The United States government, including Congress, should address Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s expected visit to Washington on November 18, 2025, 11 human rights and press freedom organizations said today.

نحن، منظّمات المجتمع المدني الموقعّة أدناه، نعرب عن قلقنا البالغ إزاء التهديد الوشيك بترحيل المدافع السعودي عن حقوق الإنسان عبدالرحمن البكر الخالدي بعد أكثر من أربع سنوات من احتجازه في بلغاريا، إلى السعوديّة، حيث يواجه خطرًا حقيقيًا بالتعرض لانتهاكات جسيمة لحقوق الإنسان بسبب نشاطه السلمي. وندعو السلطات البلغاريّة إلى وقف ترحيل الخالدي فورًا، امتثالًا لالتزاماتها القانونيّة بموجب القانون الدولي والأوروبي والوطني، والإفراج عنه من الاحتجاز، ومنحهُ الحماية الدوليّة من خلال عمليّة لجوء عادلة ونزيهة.

تكمل المحامية البارزة والمدافعة عن حقوق الإنسان هدى عبد المنعم، اليوم سبع سنوات متواصلة خلف القضبان منذ اعتقالها في 1 في 1 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني 2018. وتُعرب حملة الحرية لهدى عبد المنعم والمنظمات الحقوقية الموقعة أدناه عن قلقها البالغ واستنكارها لاستمرار احتجازها التعسفي، رغم تدهور حالتها الصحية الخطيرة ومعاناتها من أمراض مزمنة تهدد حياتها بشكل مباشر، وتطالب السلطات المصرية بالإفراج الفوري وغير المشروط عنها.

As of today, Hoda Abdelmoniem, the prominent lawyer and human rights defender, has spent seven full years behind bars since her arrest on 1 November 2018. The Free Hoda Abdelmoniem Campaign and the undersigned human rights organizations express their deep concern and strong condemnation of her continued arbitrary detention, despite her suffering from chronic and life-threatening illnesses, and call for her immediate and unconditional release.

When Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) became Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in 2017, he pledged that the kingdom would no longer “waste another 30 years of our lives dealing with extremist ideas.” He vowed to move Saudi Arabia toward a more “moderate” Islam that would empower women, modernize society, and loosen the grip of the ultra-conservative Saudi religious establishment. Western policymakers and media have embraced the narrative. Yet nearly a decade later, that promise rings hollow.

Despite promises by Saudi authorities to reduce the use of the death penalty and reserve it for only the most serious crimes, executions in the country have surged in 2025. Saudi Arabia has significantly increased executions for non-lethal offenses, particularly drug-related offenses committed by foreign nationals. Saudi authorities also executed Jalal al-Labbad and Abdullah al-Derazi, who were prosecuted for alleged crimes committed when they were children.

As organizations committed to civil society and open civic space, we, the undersigned, are gravely concerned by the U.S. government’s (USG) decision to impose sanctions under Executive Order (EO) 14203 against three leading Palestinian human rights organizations — Al-Haq: Law in the Service of Man (Al-Haq), Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al-Mezan), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) — for engaging with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek investigations into war...

This week some of America’s most famous comedians are set to take the stage in Riyadh for the Saudi Comedy Festival. The lineup includes stand-up celebrities Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Gabriel Iglesias, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Tom Segura, Andrew Schultz, and more. But behind the humor and glitz, the festival is another chapter in Saudi Arabia’s playbook of using top-level entertainment to distract from its dismal human rights record. The timing couldn’t be starker.

WASHINGTON D.C. — Saudi authorities should immediately quash a new sentence against U.S. citizen Saad Almadi and lift his unjust travel ban that is preventing him from returning to the United States, the Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC) said today. Saad Almadi, a 75 year old father and U.S. citizen from Florida has been trapped in Saudi Arabia for more than four years.