Judge Files Urgent Complaint Against Incitement to Kill

Yemenat

4 days ago

Judge Abdulwahab Qotran has submitted an urgent complaint to the Saudi Attorney General, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch regarding incitement to kill him and his family.
Currently residing in Aden, southern Yemen, to spend Eid Al-Adha holiday with his family, Judge Qotran stated in his report that he and his family have been subjected to explicit incitements to murder and bloodshed by a woman named Ebtisam Abu Dunya, a Yemeni citizen living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. These incitements were communicated through posts and videos she published on her Facebook and Twitter (X) accounts on June 7 and 8, 2025.
Qotran emphasized that Abu Dunya's posts, which were attached to the complaint, constitute a clear and direct call for his assassination and that of his children, as well as direct incitement to spill their blood, based on his political views and his human rights stance against the violations of the Houthi group. He noted that he has exercised his right to move freely within his country, Yemen.
He argued that this public incitement represents a complete crime according to Yemeni criminal law, as well as applicable Saudi laws, and constitutes a serious violation of international human rights conventions, putting his life and that of his family at imminent risk.
Judge Qotran called on the Public Prosecution in Saudi Arabia to take urgent legal action against Ebtisam Abu Dunya, currently residing in the Kingdom, and to investigate the crime of public incitement to murder, as it poses a threat to individual security and community safety.
He also urged Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to intervene urgently to monitor this serious violation, condemn the incitement and hate speech that infringe upon the right to life and physical safety, and demand guarantees for his and his family's safety.
Qotran announced that he would appoint a licensed attorney within Saudi Arabia to pursue this case and file a criminal lawsuit with the relevant judicial authorities to legally pursue Abu Dunya and impose the appropriate penalties according to Saudi law.