Family of detained Saudi Hassan Al-Rabea in Morocco fears for his life

The family of a detained Saudi activist, Hassan Al-Rabea, in Morocco are worried that Rabat will extradite him soon to Saudi Arabia where he may receive the death penalty like his eldest brother and two other cousins.

"There is no law in Morocco, but there are orders," Ahmed Al-Rabea, Hassan's brother, told The New Arab.

On 14 Jan, Moroccan authorities arrested Hassan at Marrakech on his way to Turkey at the request of Saudi Arabia for "collaborating with a terrorist by assisting him with illegally exiting Saudi Arabia."

On 1 February, a Moroccan court ruled to extradite the Saudi citizen to his home country, despite safety concerns flagged by human rights advocates.

Hassan is currently being detained in Rabat's Tiflet 2 prison pending a final decision by Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

The Moroccan government has yet to address Hassan's case.

The 26-year-old Saudi man was arrested on a warrant issued by the Arab Interior Ministers Council, a cooperative body related to the internal security and criminal matters of many Arab states. 

NGOs are worried that the council, which acts as an Arab Interpol, is easing the targeting of human rights activists in the region.

MENA Rights Group, a Geneva-based legal advocacy, said it is the second extradition case in recent months to involve the council.

Ahmed, who currently lives in Canada, says his brother is the latest target of the Al-Rabea family. 

"They arrested him only to be held hostage to hand over my brother Munir, the human rights activist," Ahmed told TNA.

Hassan's eldest brother, Ali, is currently in prison facing the death sentence for alleged terrorism and helping Munir, another al-Rabea brother who is wanted for protesting against the Saudi state in 2011. Two of Hassan's cousins were executed last year, confirms Amnesty International.

Al-Rabea family are members of the Saudis Shia minority. They live in Awamiya, a town in the Qatif province that has been the site of protests over government discrimination against the Shia community. 

Almost one year ago, Hassan left Saudi Arabia. After travelling to Ukraine before the war, then to Indonesia and Oman, he arrived in Morocco six months ago, hoping to find shelter away from harassment by the Saudi authorities.

Ahmed said his brother was "scared and unsure" of what the future holds for him when they last spoke on Monday, last week.

MENA Rights Group has submitted al-Rabea’s case to the UN Committee Against Torture, urging the Committee to request interim measures of protection from Morocco.

On 6 Feb, the UN Committee against Torture asked Rabat to take provisional measures by suspending the extradition of al-Rabea pending the review of his case.

Despite the UN request, Al-Rabea family remains worried about soon-to-happen extradition as they struggle to reach Hassan's lawyer to discuss his legal situation, according to Ahmed.

TNA has tried to reach Hassan's lawyer but he has distanced himself from statements.

In 2021, Moroccan authorities extradited Austarlian-Suadi national Osama Al Hasani to Saudi Arabia where he has been held incommunicado since his extradition.

Moroccan authorities said at the time that they extradited Al-Hassani before receiving the UN request that flagged dangers he may face in the Gulf Kingdom.

A similar case of Idris Hasan, an Uyghur activist, is still on hold. Two years after his arrest, Hasan remains under threat of extradition from Morocco to China, where he may be subjected to torture.

Idris' extradition decision is also pending a signature from Moroccan PM Aziz Akhannouch, who has yet to publicly address the case.

Since 2016, Amnesty has documented the execution of 31 men from Saudi Arabia’s Shi’a Muslim minority, to which Hassan belongs, "following grossly unfair trials before the SCC under vague counter-terror and anti-cybercrime laws," said the rights group.