Khaled al-Johani

Khaled al-Johani (also al-Jehani,Arabic: خالد الجهني, born 1969/1970 (age 46–47)) is a teacher of religious instruction in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was imprisoned, without charges or trial for nearly one year, at `Ulaysha Prison for having publicly asked for freedoms and democracy in Saudi Arabia – an absolute monarchy – during the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests. His public statement was made to a BBC Arabic Television team on a street in Riyadh in the presence of security forces. On 22 February 2012 he was charged in a court for al-Qaeda suspects and a trial date set for April 2012. Al-Johani is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience as of February 2012^[update].

After the Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt in early 2011, some protests took place in Saudi Arabia. A "Day of Rage" was proposed for Saudi Arabia for 11 March 2011. On that day, hundreds of people protested in Qatif, al-Awamiyah and Hofuf, but in Riyadh, the police presence was "overwhelming" by early in the morning, with large numbers of police cars present and helicopters that "crisscrossed the skies all day".

Khaled al-Johani is the only person known to have participated in public street protests in Riyadh or Jeddah on that day. He walked past BBC Arabic Television journalists twice and both times was threatened by police that he would be imprisoned if he walked past the journalists, who were accompanied by state escorts, a third time. He stated, "I'm here to say we need democracy, we need freedom. We need to speak freely. We will reach out, the government doesn't own us. I was afraid to speak, but no more. We don't have dignity, we don't have justice!" He stated that there is no freedom of the press in Saudi Arabia, since it is an absolute monarchy, and that living a dignified life in Saudi Arabia depends on an individual's connection and the mercy of al-Saud princes. After stating his opinion, al-Johani stated his worry that he would be detained before returning home and said that the journalists could visit him at al-Ha'ir or `Ulaysha Prison.

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