Saudi cleric dies in prison due to medical neglect

A dissident Saudi cleric has died in prison, human rights activists said on Saturday.

The "Prisoners of Conscience" Twitter account, which covers news of political prisoners in Saudi Arabia, said that Sheikh Saleh Al-Dumairi had died in Tarifa Prison in the central Al-Qassim region.

The account said that Al-Dumairi, who was in his sixties, died due to medical neglect, adding that he had been held in solitary confinement while suffering from a heart condition.

Funeral prayers were held for the dissident cleric in his home city of Sakakah in northern Saudi Arabia.

Al-Dumairi had been imprisoned by Saudi authorities for his support for other prisoners of conscience, according to human rights activists. Saudi authorities made no comment about his case.

This is not the first time that a dissident Saudi cleric has died in custody. Last January, activists announced the death of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Amari, the former dean of Quranic Studies at the Islamic University of Madinah, from a stroke, and also accused Saudi authorities of denying him adequate medical treatment.

In March this year, the UK newspaper The Guardian revealed that Saudi prisoners were suffering from severe physical abuse, according to leaked medical reports prepared for Saudi King Salman.

Hundreds of Saudi political dissidents remain in prison, including prominent Islamic author Sheikh Salman Al-Awdah and women’s rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul