Sheikh Salman al-Odah has partially lost his sight, hearing in Saudi Arabia confinement — Son

Abdullah, the son of prominent Saudi dissident Sheikh Salman al-Ouda says his father has virtually gone blind and deaf in prison, as a brutal crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman against pro-democracy campaigners, Muslim preachers and intellectuals continues unabated in the kingdom.

The rights group Prisoners of Conscience, which is an independent non-governmental organisation advocating human rights in Saudi Arabia, announced in a post on its official Twitter page on Thursday that the imprisoned scholar has almost lost his hearing and eyesight, citing the 63-year-old cleric’s son, Abdullah al-Awdah.

السلطات وحدها هي المسؤولة عن الحالة الصحية المترديّة التي وصل إليها د. #سلمان_العودة، حيث فقد نصف سمعه ونصف بصره، وذلك يجعله في خطر شديد من فقدانهما بشكل تام.
على السلطات الإفراج الفوري عنه من دون قيد أو شرط مسبق. pic.twitter.com/f78aw2l8ON

— معتقلي الرأي (@m3takl) December 3, 2020

He called on international human rights bodies concerned with the conditions of detainees in Saudi Arabia to secure the immediate release of his father, stressing that the Islamic scholar who has been in solitary confinement for more than three years, has been subjected to torture, pressure and denial of treatment.

Saudi authorities detained the prominent Muslim scholar on September 7, 2018 and have been holding him in solitary confinement without charge or trial ever since. Officials have imposed travel bans on members of his family as well.

الدعاء لتأليف القلوب.. والدعاء لمصلحة الشعوب.. كلّف هذا الإنسان حريته.. عرّضه للأذى والتعذيب والضغط والحرمان من العلاج..
في الحبس الانفرادي منذ لحظة اعتقاله (أكثر من ثلاث سنوات وأشهر)..
أخبره طبيب السجن أنه تقريبا فَقَد نصف سمعه ونصف بصره!

ولايزالون يريدون أذاه!#سلمان_العودة https://t.co/UsXNR3UI9D

— عبدالله العودة (@aalodah) December 2, 2020

A family member told Human Rights Watch that the distinguished Sheikh was being held over his refusal to comply with an order by Saudi authorities to tweet a specific text to support the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar.

Ouda, instead, posted a tweet, saying, “May God harmonize between their hearts for the good of their people,” – an apparent call for reconciliation between the Persian Gulf littoral states, the US-based rights group said in a statement.

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