Saudi Arabia reduces prison sentence of Hamas envoy from 15 to three years

Saudi Arabia have reduced the prison sentence of Hamas envoy Muhammad al-Khudari from 15 years to three years, the Jordanian Detainees Committee in Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday.

Al-Khudari - an 83-year-old cancer patient - is one of 60 Jordanians and Palestinians detained and undergoing appeals after being arrested since February 2019 on charges of supporting Palestinian resistance.

“The most prominent of [the Court of Appeal's] decisions was to reduce the sentence of the Hamas representative in Saudi Arabia from 15 years to six years, with a three-year suspension of execution," read a statement from the committee on al-Khudari's sentence.

Al-Khudari is due to complete three years in prison in January, the detainees' committee said.

The 'Freedom for al-Khudari and Palestinian Detainees in Saudi Arabia' Facebook page quoted al-Khudari's brother, Abdul Majeed, as confirming the sentence reduction, saying that al-Khudari would be released in February.

Al-Khudari will not be deported by authorities following his release but it is likely he will leave the kingdom anyway, according to Abdul Majeed.

The Court of Appeal judgments are still underway, with more due to be issued over the coming week, according to the Jordanian Detainees Committee.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International called for charges against al-Khudari to be dropped.

Amnesty said he was being deprived of adequate medical treatment for his cancer while in detention.

The NGO urged Saudi authorities to drop all charges and release al-Khudari, saying in a statement that he "must be granted immediate access to adequate medical care".

Al-Khudari had undergone surgery and was being treated for prostate cancer when Saudi authorities arbitrarily arrested him on 4 April 2019, Amnesty said.