Abdullah al-Hamid

Abdullah Hamid Ali al-Hamid (1950-2020) (Arabic: عبد الله حامد علي التميمي الحامد) or Abu Bilal was a Saudi poet, Arabic professor, human rights activist and a co-founder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). He was imprisoned several times for calling for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Saudi Arabia. In May 2005, Dr. Abdullah al-Hamid was sentenced to seven years in prison for "showing dissent and disobeying the ruler" after calling for reforms. He was pardoned and released on 8 August 2005. In 2008, al-Hamid served a four-month prison term for "incitement to protest" after supporting a demonstration of women who were protesting the detention of relatives. The demonstration took place in front of Buraidah prison, in central Saudi Arabia. Demonstrations in Saudi's eastern province by members of the Shiite minority group calling for the release of prisoners have at times turned deadly. In 2018, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, together with other jailed activists and Waleed Abulkhair for "their visionary and courageous efforts, guided by universal human rights principles, to reform the totalitarian political system in Saudi Arabia."