Saudi court sentences Egyptian lawyer to five years in prison and 300 lashes

On Wednesday an appeals court in Saudi Arabia upheld a previous court verdict from January 2013 against Egyptian lawyer Ahmed el-Gizawi, sentencing him to five years imprisonment and 300 lashes.

This second verdict cannot be appealed within the Saudi judicial system.

Upon his arrival at Jeddah’s King Abdel Aziz International Airport in April 2012, Saudi authorities detained Gizawi and accused him of smuggling Tramadol opioid pills into the country.

The sentence has been upheld despite both courts citing insufficient evidence to sentence him beyond the minimum punishment for illicit drug use.

Gizawi’s wife and acquaintances have repeatedly mentioned that he was framed and wrongfully accused. They claim that Gizawi, a human rights activist, published writings critical of prison conditions in Saudi Arabia, and against its ruling dynasty ahead of his arrival in the Gulf kingdom.

He has been locked-up for 21 months, pending investigations, trial and appeals.

Egyptian media outlets have reported that Gizawi’s wife, family and friends will return to organizing conferences and protests outside Saudi Arabia’s embassy and consulates in Egypt to demand his release.

Tens of other Egyptians have been languishing in Saudi prisons — sometimes for years on end — without having any due-process or clear legal charges brought against them, according to friends and family.

Officials from Egypt’s foreign affairs ministry claim to have sought the release or pardon of Gizawi and other nationals, to no avail.

In 2012, several sit-ins were staged outside the Saudi embassy in Giza and the kingdom’s consulate in Alexandria.