Ashraf Fayadh (; born 1980 in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

) is an artist and poet of

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

origin. He is the son of refugees from

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war. Before the 14th century, Khan Y ...

in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

and lives in Saudi Arabia. He was active in the British-Arabian arts organization, ''Edge of Arabia'', and organized exhibitions of Saudi art in Europe and Saudi Arabia. In November 2015, he was sentenced to death by

beheading Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common ...

for

apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...

. The Saudi court overturned the

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

three months later, imposing an eight-year prison term with 800

lashes Lashes may refer to: * Lashes, a form of Flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' ni ...

Conviction for apostasy

After an argument at a café, Fayadh was detained by

religious police Religious police are any Police, police force responsible for the enforcement of religious norms and associated religious laws. Nearly all religious police organizations in modern society are Islamic and can be found in countries with a large Mu ...

Abha Abha (, ') is the capital of Asir, Asir Province in Saudi Arabia. It is situated above sea level in the fertile Asir Mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia, near Asir National Park. Abha's mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination fo ...

, Saudi Arabia, released on bail, then rearrested and tried in early 2014. He was sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes. A Saudi appeals court returned the case to the lower court where a new judge was assigned to the case. On 17 November 2015, Fayadh was sentenced to death by

for

. Evidence included several poems within his 2008 book ''Instructions Within'', Twitter posts, and conversations Fayadh had in an Abha coffee shop, in which he was accused of having promoted

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

. In December 2015, Fayadh became ''Honorary Member'' of German PEN, combined with a new protest note. In November 2015, the

Berlin International Literature Festival The Berlin International Literature Festival () or ''ilb'' is an annual event based in Berlin. Every September, the festival presents contemporary poetry, prose, nonfiction, graphic novels and international children's and young adult literature. ...

published an appeal to support Ashraf Fayadh with a Worldwide Reading on 14 January 2016. Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

, said Fayadh's death sentence showed Saudi Arabia's "complete intolerance of anyone who may not share government-mandated religious, political and social views." Following the international outcry, Fayadh's

was commuted to eight years in prison and 800 lashes. Fayadh was also required to repent through an announcement in official media. In January 2017, Fayadh shared the Oxfam Novib/PEN Award for Freedom of Expression with Malini Subramaniam. On August 23, 2022, Fayadh was released from prison after eight years and eight months.https://www.uscirf.gov/religious-prisoners-conscience/forb-victims-database/ashraf-fayadh

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fayadh, Ashraf 1980 births Apostasy in Islam Human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia Living people 21st-century Palestinian male artists 21st-century Palestinian artists Palestinian male poets Prisoners and detainees of Saudi Arabia Prisoners sentenced to death by Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian artists 21st-century Saudi Arabian poets 20th-century Palestinian male writers 20th-century Palestinian poets 21st-century male writers 21st-century Palestinian poets

Conviction for apostasy

See also

References

External links