Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Saudi Arabia

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

USCIRF Recommended for Country of Particular Concern

Saudi Arabia

Updated September 2023

Shi’a Muslims

Shi’a Muslims in Saudi Arabia face systematic barriers to 

economic opportunity and political representation because 

of their religion. Authorities continue to prosecute Shi’a 

Muslims who peacefully protested for more rights, including 

minors. Several Shi’a clerics remain in prison for their 

religious expression and for condemning state-sanctioned 

discrimination on the basis of religion. 

Mohammed Hassan al-Habib

religion or belief:

Shi’a 

arrested:

July 8, 2016

sentence:

12 Years’ Imprisonment

religious leader:

Yes 

reason for persecution:

Delivered religious sermons considered 

objectionable by the government

Women Protesting Male Guardianship Laws

Women who peacefully protested male guardianship laws, 

which are rooted in religion, or who criticized such laws on 

social media have been arrested, imprisoned, threatened, 

harassed, and assaulted by prison officials in Saudi Arabia. 

Some of these women have been released but remain 

under a travel ban.

Salma al-Shehab

religion or belief:

Shi’a

arrested:

January 15, 2021

sentence:

27 Years’ Imprisonment

health concerns:

Hunger Strike 

reason for persecution:

Tweeted in support of women protesting male 

guardianship laws

Sunni Muslim Dissident Scholars

Sunni religious scholars–reformers and conservatives alike–

who criticize the government’s religious policies have been 

held incommunicado, tortured, and imprisoned. Several 

members of the dissident “Sahwa” movement remain in 

prison for their religious views. 

Hassan Farhan al-Maliki

religion or belief:

Sunni

arrested:

September 11, 2017

sentence:

Still on trial, facing death penalty

reason for persecution:

Expressed religious opinions and criticized 

historic figures in Islam

Atheists/Nonbelievers

Saudi law considers atheism a form of apostasy, a crime 

punishable by death. Saudi Arabia has actively prosecuted 

individuals who have expressed support for atheism or who 

have insulted Islam or religious figures within the religion.

Ali Aboluhom

religion or belief:

Unspecified 

arrested:

August 23, 2021

sentence:

15 Years’ Imprisonment

reason for persecution:

Accused of promoting “ideas of apostasy, 

atheism and blasphemy” on social media

FoRB Victims List Stats

46 out of 2,125

Religion or Belief # of Victims

Shi’a 20

Sunni 13

Unspecified/Other Muslim 8

Unspecified 5

Total 46

Type of Abuse # of Victims

Imprisoned 29

Detained 16

Disappeared 1

Total 46

Average Prison Sentence

13 Years

Reports of # of Victims

Torture 18

Medical Neglect 6

Total 24
Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Saudi Arabia

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

USCIRF Recommended for Country of Particular Concern

Saudi Arabia

Updated September 2023

Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List Background

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), as amended by the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016, 

requires USCIRF to:

make publicly available, to the extent practicable...lists of persons it determines are imprisoned or detained, have 

disappeared, been placed under house arrest, been tortured, or subjected to forced renunciation of faith for their religious 

activity or religious freedom advocacy by the government of a foreign country that the Commission recommends for 

designation as a country of particular concern [CPC]...or by a nonstate actor that the Commission recommends for 

designation as an entity of particular concern [EPC]. 

USCIRF developed the Frank R. Wolf Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List—an online public database—to implement this 

provision for countries USCIRF recommends for Country of Particular Concern (CPC) or Special Watch List (SWL) status. The list also 

includes such victims located in the de facto territories of nonstate actors that USCIRF recommends for Entity of Particular Concern (EPC) 

status, according to the same criteria.

Due to limited resources, USCIRF is unable to identify and document all victims that meet the statutory requirement to be included on 

the FoRB Victims List and generally relies on receiving submissions from outside individuals and organizations. As such, the information 

contained in the database does not reflect country, regional, or global trends. Furthermore, percentages highlighted in this section should 

not be used for extrapolation purposes nor interpreted as a particular group experiencing greater violations than another or a particular 

country committing violations at a greater rate than others. To support this project, USCIRF invites those with credible information on 

victims to submit information using the Victims List Intake Form at www.uscirf.gov/form/uscirf-victims-list-intake-form. 

FoRB Victims List Stats Overall

Perpetrator Victims Documented

Algeria 5

Azerbaijan 11

Burma 5

China 770

Cuba 11

Egypt 18

Eritrea 50

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) 2

Houthis 3

India 55

Indonesia 8

Iran 339

Iraq 2

Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) 1

Kazakhstan 15

Malaysia 4

Nicaragua 15

Nigeria 9

North Korea 9

Pakistan 90

Russia 449

Saudi Arabia 46

Sri Lanka 1

Tajikistan 13

Turkmenistan 30

Uzbekistan 87

Vietnam 77

Total 2,125

Religion or Belief Victims Documented

Adivasi 1

Baha’i 163

Bon 1

Buddhist – Hoa Hao 6

Buddhist – Theravada 3

Buddhist – Tibetan 76

Buddhist – Unspecified/Other 28

Christian – Catholic 46

Christian – Church of Almighty God 236

Christian – Jehovah’s Witness 258

Christian – Orthodox 17

Christian – Protestant 130

Christian – Unspecified/Other 66

Duong Van Minh 4

ECKist (Eckankar) 1

Erfan-e Halgheh Practitioner 2

Falun Gong 213

Hindu 10

Humanist 1

Jewish 1

Muslim – Ahmadiyya 23

Muslim – Qur’anist 1

Muslim – Shi’a 39

Muslim – Sufi 63

Muslim – Sunni 385

Muslim – Unspecified/Other 237

Santeria 5

Scientologist 1

Shaman 1

Sikh 1

Yarsani 37

Unknown/Unspecified 69

Total 2,125
Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Saudi Arabia

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

USCIRF Recommended for Country of Particular Concern

Saudi Arabia

Updated September 2023

Not Released

Ahmed Abdul Wahid al-Faraj

Aimidoula Waili

Aisha al-Muhajiri

Ali al-Omari

Ali Hassan al-Faraj

Ali Mohammed Al Bati

Asmaa al-Subaie

Badr Nader Al-Mashari

Buheliqiemu Abula

Hassan Farhan al-Maliki

Lina Alsharif

Manahel al-Otaibi

Mohammed Hussein Al Nimr

Nuermaimaiti Ruze

Omar Abdullah al-Saadoun

Salman al-Ouda

Sulaiman al-Dowaish

Abdul Majeed Al-Arkani

Abdullah al-Derazi

Abdullah Basfar

Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan

Ahmad Al-Shamri

Ahmed al-Matrood

Ali Aboluhom

Ali al-Ouwaisher

Ali Badahdah

Israa al-Ghomgham

Jalal Labbad

Khaled al-Ghanim

Khaled Al-Rashed

Mohammad bin Hassan al-Habib

Mohammed al-Rabiah

Mohammed Issam al-Faraj

Mousa al-Hashim

Mujtaba al-Muzain

Omar al-Muqbil

Saleh al Talib

Salma al-Shehab

Waleed abu al-Khair

Youssef al-Manasif

Released

Abdullah al-Zaher

Ali al-Nimr

Ashraf Fayadh

Dawood al-Marhoun

Murtaja Qureiris

Raif Badawi