Australian citizen Usama Al-Hasani arrested in Morocco, faces possible extradition to Saudi Arabia
An Australian citizen has been detained in Morocco and is facing extradition to Saudi Arabia over allegations he was involved in activism, according to human rights bodies.
Human rights groups in Australia and in the Middle East have
confirmed that Usama Al-Hasani, who holds dual Australian and Saudi
citizenship, was detained upon arrival in the Moroccan capital Rabat about
three weeks ago.
He had been travelling on his Australian passport, according
to Saudi rights group, Prisoners of Conscience.
"Moroccan authorities will put Dr Usama Al-Hasani to
trial on 3 March, then he'd be most probably deported to Saudi Arabia, where
the real danger lies," Prisoners of Conscience stated in a tweet.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it
was providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Morocco.
DFAT declined to name Dr Hasani, citing privacy concerns,
and also declined to comment on the suggestion Saudi Arabia was seeking his
extradition.
Dr Hasani's arrest comes at particularly tense moment for
Saudi Arabia, only days after the conservative Gulf kingdom's de facto leader,
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was publicly accused by the US of ordering
the 2018 murder of US resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi was murdered and then dismembered with a bone saw
at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.
Last week, US President Joe Biden oversaw the public release
of a CIA report that placed the blame for the killing squarely at the feet of
Prince Mohammed.
The alleged attempt by Saudi Arabia to extradite an
Australian citizen on broadly political charges will add to concerns that the
Saudi Arabian government is engaged in an international attempt to undermine
opposition to its rule.
Dr Hasani's Twitter profile describes him as an
"associate professor of business information systems [and a] consultant
for international business and trade".
In another tweet, Prisoners of Conscience described him as a
"prominent figure".
"He is a merchant, a Quran reader, and a former
professor at King Abdulaziz University [in Jeddah]," they stated.
An article on Moroccan news website Yabiladi stated that a
letter filed with the Moroccan public prosecutor's office asserted that Dr
Hasani was accused of participating in a group involved in public opposition to
the Saudi state-sponsored form of Islam, known as Wahhabism.
Comment is being sought from the embassies of Morocco and
Saudi Arabia.
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