Statement from Jim Walden and Sister of Torture Victim Abdulrahman al-Sadhan on Federal Jury Conviction of Former Twitter Employee in Saudi Spy Case
August 09, 2022
Press Releases
Federal Jury Convicts Former Twitter Employee in Saudi Spy Case
Statement from Sister and Lawyer of Torture Victim Abdulrahman al-Sadhan
New York, N.Y, August 9, 2022 — Today, a former Twitter employee was convicted by a Federal jury in San Francisco on six charges related to spying on the company’s users for Saudi Arabia. Humanitarian aid worker and online activist Abdulrahman al-Sadhan was one of the victims of the Saudi government’s illegal espionage and transnational repression.
Al-Sadhan’s sister, Areej al-Sadhan, states, “My brother was one of the victims of the Saudi government who stole him from our lives. He was kidnapped, tortured and sentenced to 20 years for tweeting. When I saw the news today, I could only think about how my brother is so far away from us, in pain and alone, and the hundreds of other families suffering just like us as a result of these actions. President Biden must do something to address Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses. Without real accountability for human rights violations, nothing will change.”
Jim Walden, the lawyer for the family, states, “This verdict further confirms the illegality of Saudi weaponization of U.S.-owned social media platforms, right here on U.S. soil, as instruments for their gruesome human rights abuses. As a result of this Saudi-sponsored transnational repression, Abdulrahman al-Sadhan has been abducted, arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared without contact with his family for over four years at the hands of his torturers. Today’s conviction marks progress toward accountability, but justice will only come when Abdulrahman is reunited with his family and those responsible for his torture and detention are held to account.”
The al-Sadhan family is represented by Jim Walden of Walden Macht & Haran LLP.
Contact: Julia Pacetti, Julia@jmpverdant.com