Saudi activist detained without charge for a year

A Saudi activist and academic has been held in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer for the last year, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Saud Mokhtar al-Hashemi, 45, was arrested last February and accused of illegally collecting funds and sending fighters to Iraq, but his lawyer and supporters claim that his detention was part of an attempt by the government to silence those calling for democratic reform.

According to the article, “Hashemi was working to form a civic rights group, the National Reformist Grouping. He was arrested the day a petition by some of the men involved in the group was made public. The petition called for an elected advisory council to help rule the country, curbs on Interior Ministry powers and a more equal distribution of the country’s land and wealth.” Hashemi had previously refused government demands that he stop these activities.

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