Article: Abdullah al-Hamid obstructs corruption and the government is responsible for the death of "Saudi Mandela"

The writer Abdullah al-Awda said - in an article published by The Washington Post - that Abdullah al-Hamid died after entering a coma while in prison. According to his family, the Saudi activist was denied a heart catheterization.

After he passed out, Al-Hamid was left for hours lying on the ground before being transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at Al-Shemaisi Hospital in Riyadh, according to eyewitnesses.Therefore, the authorities must be held responsible for al-Hamid's slow death, al-Awda says.

Saudi Arabia's Mandela and Al-
Hamid, who died at the age of 69, is undisputedly the most prominent reformer in the kingdom. He was a veteran activist and one of the prominent planners of the movement calling for a constitution and a transition to democracy. 

The writer pointed out that before the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, he shared a story with his fans about the royal family's response to the petitions circulated. And at King Abdullah’s request, to study the appropriate response to the Arab Spring that Saudi Arabia should take, and the ways in which the Kingdom can prevent the turmoil that was shaking neighboring countries.

With the exception of Prince Salman (at the time) and Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, the commission concluded that general elections should be held, democratic mechanisms established, and more freedoms. However, the matter was suddenly suspended when King Salman ascended the throne in 2015 and appointed his son Muhammad as crown prince.

The writer stated that in one of his recent talks with Khashoggi, he described Al-Hamid as “(Nelson) Saudi Mandela” and expressed his regret that his case did not receive the global attention or anger that it deserved. And like Mandela, whose words and movements have shattered the apartheid system, the legacy of Al-Hamid Democrat will remain in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Hamid, who fought for a "free Saudi", signed in 2013 - along with many prominent Saudi intellectuals and activists - the petition "Seeing the current and future nation" that called for empowering citizens to basic rights and carrying out political reforms, such as elections, the separation of powers, and the end of arrests Arbitrary.

With the spread of the petition, Al-Hamid, accompanied by others, met the Crown Prince (at the time) Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who claimed to share their views and said to them, "Your vision is my vision, and your project is my project." But years passed, and King Abdullah died without fulfilling his promises to Hamid and his colleagues.

Despite al-Hamid's repeated arrests, in 2009 he founded with his colleagues, the Saudi Society for Civil and Political Rights (Hasm), which was described as a political project aimed at doing what the Saudi state had failed to achieve for a long time: representation, diversity, democracy, and freedom.

In contrast to the many political talks unfolding in the Kingdom, the "resolution" of ideological, political, and sectarian differences exceeded and achieved widespread popularity among the various groups of society. In 2011, an unprecedented number of citizens signed a historic petition "Towards a State of Rights and Institutions" that called for democracy and the expansion of rights and freedoms.

Devastating effect
The writer reported that Al-Hamid had a special and destructive impact on the corruption network within the kingdom. In his many books, he reinterpreted the traditional basis of current Islamic political thought, and nullified the ideological base used by state-hardened "clerics" to justify absolute power and authoritarian regimes.

In addition, Al-Hamid reinterpreted the Islamic contract, known as the pledge of allegiance, to emphasize the need for bilateral approval in order for any contract to be valid. Under this interpretation, people's consent will be a necessary component of any political process that is considered valid.

What made Al-Hamid very effective was that he adopted a speech that did not erase political traditions or reject the local context, but rather reinterpreted them in a way that involved the public in decision-making, paving the way for democracy and fundamental freedoms.

However, the state considered Al-Hamid's ideas an existential threat to the monarchy. In an effort to silence him and his colleagues who have called for democracy, the country's Civil and Political Rights Association has banned, arrested founding members and frozen their assets.