The wife of a father jailed for 10 years over a ‘tweet’ has warned Brits to ‘think hard about the risks’ after her husband was ‘abducted’ in Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed al-Doush, a senior business analyst at Bank of America, lived in Manchester before the day of his arrest when he was swooped on at an airport on August 31 last year as he prepared to fly home.
The British citizen was held in a maximum security prison under strict anti-terrorism laws, on charges that included criticising the government on social media and associating with a London-based dissident.
His distraught wife has spoken out to warn too many people are unaware of the ‘dangers’ of travelling to the country which hundreds of thousands of Brits frequent each year.
Amaher Nour told MailOnline: ‘For years my family and I have enjoyed travelling to Saudi Arabia for holidays and pilgrimage – that all changed in August 2024 when my husband was abducted at Riyadh airport.
‘I would advise fellow Brits to think hard about whether it’s worth the risk after my husband, a British citizen, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Saudi Arabia for what we think might be a deleted tweet – but we’re not sure which tweet, the evidence or the exact charges.
‘The UK Government doesn’t know the charges either and has refused to demand answers from Saudi Arabia.
‘For as long as the UK Government fails to warn Britons of the dangers of travelling to Saudi Arabia, and fails stand up for its citizens arbitrarily detained abroad, other families like ours are at risk of being torn apart.’
Al Doush is believed to have been detained in relation to a deleted Tweet about the war in Sudan, his homeland, which provided military support for Saudi Arabia in its ongoing conflict with Yemen
Al-Doush (pictured here outside Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium with two friends) has yet to meet his baby son who was born in December
His distraught wife Amaher Nour has spoken out today saying: ‘To me and my kids he is everything’
Mr al-Doush was put in solitary confinement for 33 days after his arrest and denied consular assistance as well as access to legal representation for more than two months.
He was then jailed for a decade, with a state-appointed lawyer initially telling Ms Nour her husband had been convicted of an offence at a hearing but that he could not tell her what it was.
The case was discussed by the UK foreign secretary David Lammy alongside his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, though details of their call were not disclosed.
Mr al-Doush had not met his baby son Youssef, after missing the birth in December due to his detention.
Ms Nour said: ‘The authorities asked for his documents and we thought it was just a problem with his visa. He called me from security and told me to fly with the children on to Turkey, our transit stop, and said, “I’ll be with you shortly”.’
It was only once the family touched down in Manchester that they received confirmation Mr al-Doush had been imprisoned.
He was reportedly blocked from having any contact with his family until November 17 2024 – almost three months after he was first detained.
Mr al-Doush is believed to have been imprisoned in relation to a deleted Tweet from 2018 about the war in Sudan, his homeland, which provided military support for Saudi Arabia in its ongoing conflict with Yemen.
Al-Doush was arrested while preparing to fly home to the UK from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh (pictured) on 31 August last year with his family
A letter from the Foreign Office to the civil rights group Reprieve confirmed UK foreign secretary David Lammy was aware of Al Doush’s case
Mr Lammy has reportedly discussed the case with his Saudi counterpart, foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, though details of the call were not revealed
He has not posted about Saudi Arabia on his X account and only had 37 followers.
Dan Dolan, Interim Deputy Executive Director of civil rights group Reprieve, has written to the UK Foreign Office urging the government to ‘update its travel advice to Saudi Arabia’ so British nationals are ‘fully informed of risks to their safety’.
Mr Dolan said: ‘The Saudi authorities have announced that they are investing $800 billion to transform their tourism sector to attract more visitors.
‘Hundreds of thousands of Britons already visit the Kingdom each year.
‘Few will be aware that an old, deleted social media post could lead to them being abducted, charged with terrorism offences and potentially sentenced to death.
‘Few will know that there are currently foreign nationals on death row, at imminent risk of execution, after being caught with cannabis for personal use.
‘Hundreds more have been imprisoned for similar acts, including Reprieve clients Hassan al-Maliki and Salman al-Odah, two scholars detained since 2017 and at risk of the death penalty for peaceful expression of their opinions.
‘The UN has repeatedly condemned Saudi Arabia’s 2017 counterterrorism law for violating international human rights standards and criminalising protected speech and association.’
Al Doush was reportedly not allowed to select his own legal counsel in Saudi Arabia
Ms Nour previously said night time is ‘hardest’ for her when she is ‘alone and it’s quite’.
She added: ‘I keep asking myself “why, why, why has this happened”, and I can’t get to the bottom of it because it’s not rational in any way. He has no political associations.’
The Foreign Office said: ‘We are supporting a British man who is detained in Saudia Arabia and are in contact with his family and the local authorities.’
