On 12 May 2025, Saudi Arabia’s terrorism court, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), sentenced British national Ahmed al-Doush to 10 years in prison. On 23 June 2025, his sentence was shortened to eight years on appeal. Saudi authorities arrested Ahmed al-Doush, a senior business analyst with Bank of America, on 31 August 2024 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh as he was returning to the UK, where he resides, after visiting Saudi Arabia with his wife and children. In his extensive interrogations, questions revolved around past social media posts and his alleged association with a Saudi critic in exile, with whom he has no relationship beyond knowing his son. He has faced multiple violations of his fair trial rights.
