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As former U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday to mark what they call a “golden age” in trade relations, a British citizen, Ahmed al-Doush, is due to appear in a Riyadh court, potentially facing an extended prison sentence over a tweet.
The UK Foreign Office has been denied access to the trial, and Doush’s British legal representative says there is still no clarity on the precise charges against him or the legal basis for the proceedings. Doush, a Manchester-based father of four and former Bank of America business analyst, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. It remains unclear whether a sentence will be delivered at that time.
Doush has not been allowed to appoint a Saudi lawyer of his choosing, and prison authorities have restricted his communication with family and barred him from discussing the trial or his prison conditions. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy recently spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, although it’s unknown if Doush’s case was addressed in the call.
International human rights barrister Haydee Dijkstal, who is representing Doush, said his continued detention without transparent charges or access to evidence violates fundamental international legal standards. “Even after more than three months, we still do not know whether a tweet is the basis of the charge, which flies in the face of basic due process,” she said.
Doush’s wife, Amaher Nour, remains deeply distressed. Her husband was the family's primary earner, and contact with him has been minimal since his detention. The case has once again spotlighted Saudi Arabia’s use of anti-terrorism legislation to target online speech and its broader crackdown on social media expression. Doush is also supported by the human rights organization Reprieve.
The UK Foreign Office responded to a Reprieve letter, saying the British government could not intervene in another country's judicial system or secure the release of British citizens jailed abroad. The April 2 letter acknowledged the family’s anguish and confirmed UK diplomats in Riyadh had consistently raised concerns with Saudi authorities about Doush’s treatment.
According to Reprieve and Doush’s family, the charges appear to relate to a deleted tweet about the war in Sudan and his personal connection to the son of a Saudi dissident. His relatives insist the friendship was not political in nature. He was arrested on August 31, 2023, at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, just before he was due to fly back to the UK with his family. At his request, his family returned to the UK while he was detained, with no communication allowed until November. He only appeared in court for the first time that same month, which also marked the first consular access.
Saudi officials have yet to comment publicly on the case.
