Saudi Arabia convicts 10 Egyptians for 1973 Arab-Israeli war-related event
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Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has sentenced 10 Egyptian men to up to 18 years in prison over the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. They are convicted for having ties to organising a remembrance event.
Relatives told AFP that the men are from Egypt's Nubian minority group and they were found guilty of trying to establish a "terrorist group." They were first arrested in October 2019 and released once without charge in December 2020. They were re-arrested in July 2021.
One of the relatives anonymously said that they fear reprisal and have anger at the extreme injustice their people have been subjected to. Three of the men are over 60 years old.
Rights groups including Amnesty International had earlier campaigned for the men's release. In a 2021 statement, the organisation said that the proceedings against them are a travesty of justice. Amnesty added that they were being prosecuted for "the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression in trying to organise a community event."
At the time of their first arrest, Saudi security officials criticised them for "failing to include a photo of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the event's announcement poster." According to the human rights group, the men were denied regular family contact. They were only allowed to access government-appointed lawyers.
