Saudi Arabian lawyer and human rights activist (born 1979)
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Waleed Abulkhair
Waleed Abulkhair in November 2012
Born
(1979-06-17) 17 June 1979 (age 44)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Occupation(s)
Lawyer and human rights activist
Years active
2007–present
Spouse
Samar Badawi
(m. 2010; div. 2015)
Children
1 daughter
Awards
Right Livelihood Award
Waleed Sami Abulkhair (Arabic: وليد أبوالخير; born 17 June 1979) is a Saudi Arabian lawyer and human rights activist, and the head of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA) organization. He is the first activist to be prosecuted by the Terrorism Law[clarification needed]. He was arrested on 15 April 2014, and was sent to al-Ha'ir Prison while awaiting prosecution. On 6 July 2014, Abulkhair was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Specialized Criminal Court, (10 years executed and five suspended) and a travel ban for another 15 years, in addition to a fine of 200,000 riyals (US$53,333). On 12 January 2015, the case returned to the Court of Appeals, after which the judge requested increasing the previous sentence, because Abulkhair refused to apologize. Thus, the judgment was tightened to 15-year executed. In response, Abulkhair prayed for God's victory and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Specialized Criminal Court.[1][2] Abulkhair is incarcerated in the Dhahban Central Prison in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a facility used to hold high-profile political prisoners, as well as members of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.[3][4]
In 2018, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, together with Abdullah al-Hamid and Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani for "their visionary and courageous efforts, guided by universal human rights principles, to reform the totalitarian political system in Saudi Arabia."[5]
^"Saudi Arabia: 15-Year Sentence for Prominent Activist". Human Rights Watch. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
^"| Waleed Abulkhair Blog". waleedabulkhairen.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
^Aldrich, Mark (18 April 2016). "Inside Raif Badawi's Prison Cell". Goshen, US: The Gad About Town. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
^Javier El-Hage and Celine Assaf Boustani. (12 July 2016).Waleed Abulkhair sits in a Saudi jail for speaking out, The Washington Post
^Jan M. Olsen. (24 September 2018). 3 Saudi human rights activists awarded "Alternative Nobel" Fox News
Waleed Sami Abulkhair (Arabic: وليد أبوالخير; born 17 June 1979) is a Saudi Arabian lawyer and human rights activist, and the head of the Monitor of Human...
candidate. Swiss Freethinker Prize 2015, shared with Raif Badawi and WaleedAbulkhair 40th Anniversary of the Charter – Ambassador Quebec 2016 Deschner Prize...
order to unmask anonymous dissidents of Saudi Arabia. In July 2015, WaleedAbulkhair, a prominent human rights lawyer, founder of Monitor of Human Rights...
work representing WaleedAbulkhair. His acceptance speech of the Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize on Abulkhair's behalf was published...
and former mayor of Jeddah. Muna AbuSulayman, Saudi businesswoman. WaleedAbulkhair, Saudi Arabian lawyer and human rights activist. Tariq Alhomayed, journalist...
advocates in Saudi Arabia, and the detention of her husband activist WaleedAbulkhair. On 18 September 2014, while at the Human Rights Council in Geneva...
lashes, calling it a "gratuitous, violent sentence". Badawi's lawyer WaleedAbulkhair (also transcribed as Abu al-Khair) was imprisoned after setting up...
Pinter Prize: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie International Writer of Courage: WaleedAbulkhair, Saudi lawyer and human rights activist PEN Pinter Prize: Lemn Sissay...
and corporal punishment of Raif Badawi for "insulting religion", and WaleedAbulkhair for "disrespecting the authorities", both in Saudi Arabia. Humanists...
the first time. It was bestowed upon Ensaf Haidar, Raif Badawi and WaleedAbulkhair for their brave efforts for humanist and secular values in Saudi Arabia...
Vadim Kuramshin, Kazakhstan 2014: Mahienour El-Massry, Egypt 2015: WaleedAbulkhair, Saudi Arabia 2016: Wang Yu (lawyer), China 2017: Mohammed Al-Rukn...
political system in Saudi Arabia." Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani (b. 1965) Waleed Sami Abulkhair (b. 1979) Tony Rinaudo (b. 1957) Australia "for demonstrating on...
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