Is Saudi Arabia Ramping Up the Campaign against Religious Scholars? | Inside Story

Saudi Arabia has jailed many activists and dissidents since Mohammed Bin Salman became the Crown Prince two years ago. Now media reports suggest three religious scholars may be sentenced to death after the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Salman Al-Odah, Awad Al-Qarni and Ali Al-Omari were arrested in September 2017 on what Saudi Arabia described as terror charges. They are seen as reformists who have spoken about human rights.

The United Nations and rights groups have been calling for their release. Why are they targeted? And what message will this send about human rights in the Kingdom?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan | Guests: Sami Hamdi - Editor-in-Chief of The International Interest, a current affairs magazine; Bessma Momani - Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo; Ali Al-Ahmed - Director of the Gulf Affairs Institute and a former Saudi political prisoner