The prominent Saudi preacher, Salman Al-Awda, decided on Monday to strike for receiving family visits at his prison, according to a human rights source quoted by the Anatolia Agency.

The account of the prisoners of conscience said in a tweet on Twitter that the Al-Ha'ir prison administration (south of Riyadh) prevented al-Awda from taking his papers in which he prepared the response to the unfair charges against him.

đź”´ Urgent:
Al-Ha'ir prison administration prevents Sheikh # Salman_Awdah from taking his papers in which he prepared the response to the unfair charges against him, and he was preparing to use it before the judges of the specialized criminal court.
The Sheikh decided to strike the reception of family visits in protest of this arbitrary measure. pic.twitter.com/tuAXfEqahP

Prisoners of Conscience (@ m3takl) January 6, 2020

The tweet indicated that the return had been prepared for use (papers) before the judges of the Specialized Criminal Court (in Riyadh). She added that al-Awda decided to strike the reception of family visits in protest against that arbitrary measure.

It was not possible to obtain an immediate comment from the Saudi authorities on this matter. Usually, the courts in Saudi Arabia do not announce many details of their hearings, do not broadcast them, nor announce the names of the accused in the cases.

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The criminal court postponed the last trial of return on November 27, to January 30, 2020.

In September 2017, the authorities arrested prominent preachers and activists in the country, most notably al-Awda, Awad al-Qarni and Ali al-Omari, on charges of terrorism and conspiracy against the state, amid demands from international and Islamic figures and organizations that they should be released.