Saudi Dissident Arrested at Moroccan Airport on Interpol Warrant

The arrest of Hassan Mohammad Al-Rabee, a Saudi opponent from the city of al-Aawamiyat in the al-Qatif region in eastern Saudi Arabia, took place on January 14, 2023 at Marrakech airport, according to a report from the Euro-Saudi Organization for Human Rights, stating that he was taken to an unknown location and that the Moroccan authorities had prohibited him from communicating with his family. It was his companion who reportedly contacted the organization to inform them of the opponent’s arrest and his possible extradition to Saudi Arabia.

At the request of the Saudi authorities, Hassan is the subject of an international arrest warrant under an Interpol red notice. According to the Euro-Saudi Organization for Human Rights, the Saudi opponent would have left his country more than a year ago following "an escalation of violations perpetrated against his family by the Saudi security forces". He went to Indonesia, Oman and several other countries before arriving in Morocco, where he spent about 5 months.

According to the same organization, the Moroccan authorities would be working to extradite Hassan to Saudi Arabia, where his brother Ali, detained since February 7, 2021, "on the basis of alleged accusations, in particular those related to the exercise of legitimate rights," would have been recently sentenced to death.