human rights defender
HRD's year of birth
1979
HRD's Gender
Man
Type of HRD
- Other
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Economic, social and cultural rights
Current Status
In prison (sentenced)
HRD's bio and work
Essam Al-Zamel is an economist, entrepreneur, and a blogger. He founded the Saudi Rimal Company, a leading company in the field of information technology, in addition to many websites, programs, applications and services on the Internet. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Tulane University in the United States in 2002, and worked for Saudi Aramco as an engineer and contributed to its development. He was also a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Executive Committee. Al-Zamel received the Prince Salman award for young entrepreneurs in 2009 and the national achievement award in 2014. He was also considered one of the most influential Saudi figures according to Forbes. Al-Zamel was arrest in September 2017 because he criticised Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s economic plan (Vision 2030), including plans for the national oil company, on social media, where he had a large following of almost 1 million followers.
Detained since
Sep 12, 2017
Charge(s)
- Terrorism
Sentence
15 YEARS
Latitude: 24.44914
Longitude: 46.81299
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Asia: Western Asia
Location of detention - City/Town
Riyadh
Location of detention - Facility
Al-Ha’ir Prison
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Al-Zamel has been held in harsh conditions under solitary confinement.
Recent case update / evolution
The Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) held a secret session on 01 October 2018 during which the Public Prosecution charged Al-Zamel under the Anti-terror Law and the Anti Cyber Crime Law, demanding what it called “severe penalties” against him. The charges include allegations that he is a member of a terrorist organisation (the Muslim Brotherhood), “inciting and sowing sedition in society,” and inciting protests against Saudi’s rulers. He has been charged with violating the Anti Cyber Crime Law by “mobilising his followers on social media,” according to Saudi newspaper “Al-Riyadh”, as well as communicating with Qatar. On 05 October 2020, the Specialised Criminal Court issued a ruling against him for 15 years in prison and a travel ban for the same period after the end of his sentence.
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