A/HRC/39/41 23. Saudi Arabia 95. It was reported that on 28 February 2018, Mr. Essa Al Nukheifi was sentenced to six years in prison by the Specialized Criminal Court. Mr. Al Nukheifi is a human rights defender with whom Mr. Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights consulted in December 2016 during the preparations of his mission t o Sau di Arabia in January 2017. Mr. Al Nukheifi was also banned from travelling and using s ocial media for an equivalent amount of time after his release. He had been the subject of a previous communication by four special procedures (SAU 2/2017) and there is concern that his current detention is related to his cooperation with the Special Rapporteur an d t h at h e expressed his willingness to meet with the mandate’s team. On 20 April 2017 the Government replied that Mr. Al Nukheifi was arrested in December 2016 on criminal charges and was afforded due process. 96. In August 2017 Mr. Al Nukheifi was charged with “seeking to destabilise the social fabric and national cohesion” (Royal Decree 16820 see para. 8), “communicating with, an d receiving money from foreign groups considered to be enemies of the state” (Royal Decrees 16820 and A/44) and “using a personal phone and the internet to store and transfer information considered harmful to the public order” (article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law, Royal Decree M/17). On 30 December 2016 Mr. Al Nukheifi had been transferred t o Mecca General Prison where he remains in detention. It is alleged that he does n o t h ave a bed to sleep on and must sleep on the cold floor without any blanket, that he has been repeatedly threatened with torture, and that he is not allowed to receive visits from his family. 97. On 1 June 2017 the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion ab ou t Mr. Salim Abdullah Hussain Abu Abdullah (A/HRC/2017/10), who was arrested on 11 December 2014 without an arrest warrant and not provided with a reason for his arres t. He was taken to Dammam Central Prison and held incommunicado for six months an d placed in solitary confinement. He was reportedly subjected to severe psycholo gical an d physical torture, and forced to sign a statement he was not allowed to read beforehand. In addition, some family members of Mr. Abu Abdullah were reportedly intimidat ed and threatened. The Working Group considers the detention of Mr. Abu Abdullah to be arbitrary and requested the Government to take steps to remedy the situation (see A/HRC/WGAD/2017/10, para. 31-33). At the time of writing, more than three years aft er his initial arrest, he has not been officially charged and, no court d ate h as b een s et fo r a trial. Since the opinion was issued, it has been reported that Mr. Abu Abdullah has repeatedly been placed in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time and been denied regular contact with his family, as an act of reprisal for having his case con sidered by the Working Group (see A/HRC/39/45, para. 28). 98. On 24 July 2018 the Government responded to the allegations. Concerning the case of Mr. Al Nukheifi, the Government stated he was arrested on 18 December 2016 and charged under articles 2 and 112 of the Statute of Criminal Procedures after his wife called the police claiming he had threatened to kill her and that he is affiliated t o Daesh . s . Th e Government reported that he was allowed to call a lawyer and that his family visited him on 24 February 2017 (26/5/1438 Hijri). The General Prosecutor referred his case to the relevant court which ruled that Mr Al Nukheifi committed crimes involving national security, spying for foreign entities, receiving financial support and cyber crimes. The court of first instance sentenced him to six years imprisonment with a travel ban for the same amount of time as his release. His case is still under consideration with the court. 99. Regarding the allegations about Mr. Abu Abdullah, the Government stated a warrant for his arrest was issued pursuant to articles 35 and 103 of the Statute of Criminal Procedures and he was accused of committing many crimes, including killing several persons, shooting security officers, possessing arms and providing terrorists with weapons. Mr. Abu Abdulla’s arrest was pursuant to article 2 of the Statute on Terrorism Crimes an d Funding of 2013 and his detention was extended pursuant to article 5 of the s ame s t at ute, and his case is referred to the specialized criminal court. According to the Govern ment h e was not subjected to torture or ill-treatment nor forced to confess, and was provided medical treatment. Additionally he was not forced to sign a confession. His case is still pending. GE.18-13325 37