Sheikh Qasim al-Qathardi passes away in Saudi prison

Saudi scholar and academic, Dr Qasim al-Qathardi, has recently passed away in his prison cell at Sha’ar Prison in Asir, Saudi Arabia.

According to Saudi Prisoners of Conscience group, he fell few days ago in prison cell and lost consciousness. He was not treated properly and continued to suffer until he died.

Sheikh Qasim al-Qathardi was a Professor of the Holy Quran and its sciences at King Khalid University in Abha and the President of the Tarteel Quran Memorisation Association.

He was arrested by the Saudi authorities on July 8, 2021, for attending a symposium held in 2013 at the home of Dr. Awad Al-Qarni and possession of two publicly available books: ‘So That There May Be No Discord’ by Ghazi Al-Qusaibi, and ‘Existentialism’, a book taught in Saudi universities.

He was sentenced to 8 years in prison, followed by an 8-year travel ban, based on vague charges of “supporting extremist ideology” and “disturbing public order” – charges he vehemently denied during his trial.