According to Human Rights Watch, the authorities have refused to reveal his whereabouts or status, a source with ties to the family told Human Rights Watch, which suggests that authorities may have forcibly “disappeared” him.
Prince Faisal’s case is the most recent known arbitrary detention of prominent Saudis, including royal family members, outside any recognizable legal process. The authorities previously detained Prince Faisal in November 2017 and held him along with over 300 leading businesspeople, royal family members, and current and former officials at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel. The authorities reportedly pressured them to hand over assets in return for their release, also outside of any clear or recognizable legal process. The source said that the authorities released Prince Faisal in late December 2017 after he agreed to hand over assets and that the basis of his current detention is unclear.
“Despite waves of criticism, the lawless behavior of Saudi authorities during the de facto rule of Mohammed bin Salman continues unabated,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Now we have to add Prince Faisal to the hundreds detained in Saudi Arabia without a clear legal basis.”
The arrests since 2017 have targeted many sectors of Saudi society, including clerics, intellectuals, human rights activists, businessmen, and royal family members, including sons of the late King Abdullah. Others among his sons detained in November 2017 include Prince Mishal bin Abdullah, a former governor of Mecca; Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, former National Guard minister; and Prince Turki bin Abdullah, a former governor of Riyadh. Prince Turki remains in detention without charge.
The source said that the authorities imposed an arbitrary travel ban on Prince Faisal following his release on December 29, 2017. The source said that on March 27, 2020, security forces arrived at a family compound northeast of Riyadh, where Prince Faisal was self-isolating due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and detained him without revealing the reasons. The source said that family members have not been able to learn anything about Prince Faisal’s location or status since then, which may qualify as an enforced disappearance.