Radio Islam International News | 16 September 2018

Barely a month after Saudi authorities arrested Sheikh Saleh Aal-Talib, an imam and Khateeb of Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, new restrictions have reportedly been placed on other Imams of Islam’s Holiest site.

Saudi social media advocacy group Prisoners of Conscience is reporting Sheikhs Khaled al-Ghamidy, Faisal al-Ghazawy and Bandar Baleela to be at the receiving end of the latest manifestation of a widespread and ongoing crackdown.

In what is reportedly the worst of the latest purge, Sheikh Baleela is claimed by the group to have been detained on Tuesday “in an abusive manner that does not fit the status of the Sheikh.”

However, the veracity of the latest claim has been questioned as Sheikh Baleela continues to lead Salaah at the Haram. It has been suggested that the Imam could have been called in for questioning on the said day, rather than being arrested for the purposes of detention.

The activists have further alleged that Sheikh al-Ghamidy had been banned from delivering Khutbahs and has subsequently been disallowed from teaching at the Umm al-Qurra university.

Al-Ghazawy, it is alleged, has also been barred from delivering Khutbahs and engaging in other public Dawah activities.

The restrictions have not been confirmed by Saudi authorities nor have any reasons been proffered for the alleged actions.

As it appears, the latter two Imams in question also still retain, for the time being, their permission to lead Salaah in the Haram.

Following a new wave of crackdown from September 2017, scores of Ulama, intellectuals and activists have been arrested by the Saudi regime. A series of secret trials of late has led to the prosecution calling for harsh penalties against some of the most prominent of the Ulama and activists – including the death penalty.

Leaked information indicates that many detainees have been subjected to serious abuses, including torture, to get them to confess to crimes they have not committed or to abandon their positions that are deemed critical of the authorities.