Shortly after the establishment of the Union for Human Rights in 2013, the Public Prosecution launched a criminal investigation against its founding members. Al Otaibi, together with other activists, was summoned for “co-founding an illegal association”. Al Otaibi was once again summoned for questioning by the Public Prosecution office in March 2014, and required to sign a pledge to stop participating in interviews broadcasted on TV and issuing reports and statements. He was then placed under surveillance without notification by the Public Prosecution, which also included his social media accounts. On October 30, 2016, Al Otaibi was summoned by the Special Criminal Court and charged with “illegally founding an association”, “spreading chaos and stirring up public opinion against the State”, “harming the reputation of the Kingdom before the international community and human rights bodies”, “preparing, signing and publishing statements on the Internet that are harmful to the reputation of the Kingdom and of its judicial and security institutions, with the intention of dividing national unity, and damaging the reputation of the State and its security and stability” and with publishing “hostile and abusive posts insulting the Kingdom and the religious authority and aimed at disrupting the social order” on a Twitter account. On March 30, 2017, in order to avoid being prosecuted for his human rights activism, Al Otaibi fled to Qatar, where he obtained refugee status. He was supposed to be resettled in Norway as part of a UN protection programme. On May 24, 2017, Al Otaibi was arrested at Doha International Airport on his way to Oslo. On May 28, 2017, he was then deported to Saudi Arabia. Upon his arrival, he was arrested by officers of the General Directorate of Investigation (Al Mabahith) and transferred to the Al Mabahith prison in Dammam. On January 25, 2018, the Special Criminal Court sentenced Al Otaibi to 14 years in prison. Al Otaibi appealed the decision on February 22, 2018, but it was later upheld. On July 25, 2019, Al Otaibi was brought back to court in a new trial, on the charges of “fleeing justice”, “going to Qatar”, “communicating with foreign entities” and “interfering in public affairs”. In December 2020, an additional one-year prison sentence was handed down on Al Otaibi, which was increased to a three-year sentence on appeal in April 2021, resulting in a 17-year prison term in total.