The Saudi authorities have arrested several activists, most notably Abdullah Gilan, in connection with their Twitter activity.
According to human rights organisation Sanad, the arrests included 12 male and female activists.
The organisation published on its Twitter account a copy of Gilan’s passport, and called on the Saudi authorities to release him and all the detainees unconditionally.
Sanad also published a video clip of Gilan’s fiancée confirming that communication between them has been cut off since mid-May, and that she learned from his friends that his home was being raided by the Saudi security forces.
His fiancée indicated that the reason for the arrest was the tweets he had posted on his Twitter account, without specifying what these tweets were.
She said in the video: “I am afraid and terrified, and I do not know anything about him. I do not know if he is alive or dead, and I am afraid that he will face the same fate as journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”
For its part, the Prisoners of Conscience account on Twitter, which is concerned with news of detainees in the country, confirmed the arrest of Gilan from Medina on May 12.
Other press sources also confirmed that Gilan has been detained by the state security apparatus since the night of Eid al-Fitr, due to his activity on social media under a pseudonym, and his criticism of the Saudi regime.
Among the well-known names of those arrested are the activists Zeinab Walden, Abu Daham and Naza.
