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Detention has passed four and a half years. Case pending before the European Court of Human Rights (No. 26364/24). Two court release orders — neither executed.
Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi (born 1993, Riyadh) is a Saudi journalist and human rights defender. From 2011 to 2013, he was an active member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and participated in peaceful civil society campaigns including “Prisoners Until When”, calling for constitutional governance in Saudi Arabia.
Facing intensifying state repression, he was forced to leave Saudi Arabia in 2013. He spent subsequent years in Turkey (where his family remains), Qatar, and Egypt, continuing his advocacy and journalism in exile. He became associated with the network of Saudi dissidents and journalists around Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by Saudi state agents in October 2018.
In October 2021, following the expiry of his travel documents (which he could not renew without risk of Khashoggi’s fate at a Saudi consulate), he travelled on foot to Bulgaria and immediately applied for asylum. He has been in administrative immigration detention since that date — first at the Busmantsi detention centre in Sofia, later transferred to Lyubimets. He has never been charged with a criminal offence. Bulgarian courts have ordered his release twice; neither order was executed by the security services.
From detention, he has continued writing: essays, letters, and geopolitical analysis published in Bulgarian, English, Italian, and Arabic, in outlets including Marginalia, Melting Pot Europa, Substack, and News.bg.
To request high-resolution press images, please use the contact form or email the campaign team via the contact page.
Written from detention. Full archive at writings.html.
Marginalia, 27 Jun 2024 · Bulgarian · The first widely circulated open letter from inside Busmantsi detention centre.
Melting Pot Europa, Jan 2025 · English · Essay on asylum, detention, and the structures of institutional harm.
Melting Pot Europa, Jun 2025 · English · Statement after the Supreme Administrative Court ruling that did not lead to release.
Substack, Feb 2026 · English · Legal and personal essay on non-refoulement obligations and their violation.
Substack, Mar 2026 · English · Geopolitical analysis of Gulf strategic autonomy amid shifting alliances.
For press enquiries, interview requests, high-resolution images, or campaign partnership, please use the contact page. The campaign team includes legal counsel, international human rights NGO contacts, and campaign coordinators.
Counsel: Hristo Vasilev (Vasilev, Dobrinov & Associates). International contacts: Front Line Defenders (case officer: Tajana), MENA Rights Group, Amnesty Ireland, ALQST.