By Dawud Aisha
Prominent Saudi Imam and preacher at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina Ahmad Al-Amari has died one week after Saudi authorities dropped all charges against him and released him from prison. Saudi activists allege the 69-year-old scholar died as a result of poor prison conditions and possible torture.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Amari, former dean of the Quran College in the Islamic University of Madinah, died on Sunday, after more than five months in incarceration, said the social media advocacy group, Prisoners of Conscience, which monitors and documents arrests of Saudi preachers and religious scholars.
Saudi authorities arrested Al-Amari with one of his sons from their home during a campaign led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman against clerics, writers and human rights activists.
Last week, authorities informed Al-Amari’s family that “he was released and that all charges against him had been dropped and that they could see him”. However, the family discovered that the release came after all doctors confirmed that he is “brain dead”.
News reported claimed that the cleric was declared brain-dead after Saudi officials injected a poisonous substance into his body while torturing him in prison.
Rights group Prisoners of Conscience said they suspect Al-Amari had suffered a brain hemorrhage after the injection.