Human Rights Watch has called on Saudi authorities to immediately release ten Nubian Egyptians who have been unjustly detained for more than five years, urging respect for their basic rights and fair treatment.
According to hrw.org, on September 6, 2025, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh reduced the sentences of the prisoners on appeal, yet all 10 remain unjustly detained.
Saudi authorities arrested the 10 men in July 2020 and held them without charge or trial for over a year. The SCC initially sentenced the men to prison terms ranging from between 10 and 18 years on October 10, 2022. The sentences now range from 7 to 9 years.
“As Saudi authorities invest billions into hosting high-profile entertainment and cultural events, they apparently arrested these Nubian men for expressing their cultural heritage,” said Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Saudi government needs to release them immediately and unconditionally.”
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The Saudi appeal session in the men’s case was originally scheduled for September 22, but Saudi authorities unexpectedly requested the appearance of the prisoners on September 6 and held the session that day. Families learned of the reduced sentences on September 11 as the prisoners are granted only one phone call every two weeks.
All 10 prisoners should be immediately and unconditionally released, regardless of their initial sentence, as these men have been held arbitrarily and seemingly in reprisal for merely expressing their cultural heritage, Human Rights Watch said.
Nubians are a minority ethnic group in Egypt and Sudan. The Egyptian government has subjected Nubians in Egypt to repression, and continues to prevent them from going back to their lands after multiple forced displacements in recent decades.
Saudi authorities arrested the men, community leaders of the Egyptian Nubian diaspora in Riyadh, after their community group organized an event in October 2019 commemorating the contributions of Nubian soldiers in the October 1973 war with Israel. The event was cancelled after Saudi police interrogated some of the men about the perceived political messages of the event.
The SCC brought charges against the Nubians in September 2021, more than a year after their initial arrest, charging them with spreading false and malicious rumors on social media, establishing an unlicensed association, and supporting a terrorist group.
The initial decisions issued by the SCC on October 10, 2022, included sentencing Wael Ahmed Hassan Ishaq, Ali Jumaa Ali Bahr, and Abdullah Jumaa Ali Bahr to 10 years in prison; Jamal Abdullah Masri, Saleh Jumaa Ahmed, and Abdulsalam Gomaa Ali to 12 years; Adel Sayed Ibrahim Fakir to 14 years; Dr. Farajallah Ahmed Yousif and Sayyed Hashem Shater to 16 years; and Mohamed Fathallah Shater to 18 years.
Before the October 2022 ruling, the men struggled to hire a non-court appointed lawyer. Many lawyers and firms approached by relatives were fearful to take up the case because it was perceived as political. The Saudi sponsor of one of the men was finally able to hire a lawyer for the session before the ruling was handed down. The men were also represented by a court-appointed lawyer.
The Dahmit Nubian Village Association, a Nubian cultural society in Riyadh that organized the event, is registered with the Egyptian consulate in Riyadh, a relative said, adding that the association and other Nubian cultural societies are nonpolitical groups established to preserve Nubian cultural heritage, traditions, and language.
On October 29, 2019, the Egyptian consulate in Riyadh released a statement calling on Egyptian citizens in Saudi Arabia to “respect the laws and regulations of the Kingdom.” The statement said that it is illegal for non-Saudi nationals to “establish groups or bodies” and called for existing entities to be abolished.
“By continuing to detain peaceful cultural leaders, Saudi authorities are demonstrating that the spate of prisoner releases earlier in 2025 does not indicate a policy shift towards ending the unlawful crackdown on dissent,” Shea said. “Saudi authorities should demonstrate their commitment to reform and cultural promotion by releasing these Nubian men immediately.”
