Saudi human rights defender, Abdulrahman Al-Bakr (Al-Khalidi), has been detained in Bulgaria since October 2021 and facing imminent deportation to Saudi Arabia.
Abdulrahman is a well-known activist who advocated for civil and political rights in Saudi Arabia.
Bulgaria rejected his asylum request despite the Supreme Court twice overturning the asylum denial. The security and administrative authorities refused to implement the non-appealable Sofia Administrative Court’s rulings on January 18, 2024, and March 26, 2025, for his immediate release.
Instead, he was transferred to a deportation center for extradition to Saudi Arabia, where he faces the risk of execution and enforced disappearance.
Bulgaria is defying its own courts and international law. This is a life-or-death emergency. We must act now.
Immediate Action Needed as EU member Bulgaria Rejects Asylum for Saudi Political Activist
Former member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Assn., Abdulrahman left Saudi Arabia in 2013 over fears for his safety and lived in exile in Qatar, Egypt and then Turkey. After Jamal Khashoggi's murder in Istanbul in 2018 he began went underground. He now faces EU deportation to Saudi Arabia.
