Seven Saudi judges arrested for 'high treason', rights groups say

Saudi authorities arrested several judges for “high treason” on Wednesday in an apparent purge, according to Saudi human rights organisations.

Seven judges, from the court that handles terrorism charges as well the appellate and high courts, were arrested.

Many of those arrested have been involved in the suppression of human rights in Saudi Arabia, according to Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the human rights advocacy organisation founded by slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

One of the judges arrested is Khalid al-Liheidan, who was responsible for ordering the imprisonment of women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, DAWN said.

Another is Abdulaziz al-Jaber, who decreed the execution of 81 prisoners in March this year. 

محمد بن سلمان يأمر باعتقالات واسعة للقضاة، وبعضهم يُعتبر من الموالين له، ومن أصدر أحكام ظالمة بحق المعتقلين ونشطاء الرأي#اعتقالات_القضاة pic.twitter.com/5rwMPj3V8c

— DAWN السعودية (@DAWNsaudi) April 13, 2022

According to DAWN and advocacy group Prisoners of Conscience, security forces made the arrests at the courts the judges worked at.

“Eyewitnesses told us that state security vehicles came directly to the courts and arrested the judges,” DAWN tweeted. 

There has not yet been an official statement on the arrests, and the reasons for the apparent purge are not yet clear.

Many of the judges arrested had been viewed previously as “supporters of the crown prince”, according to DAWN.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticised Mohammed bin Salman’s crackdown on dissent and increased consolidation of power since his appointment as crown prince in 2017.