Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Bulgarian authorities to "immediately suspend" moves to deport human rights activist Abdulrahman al-Khalidi back to his native Saudi Arabia. HRW said in a statement on March 7 that if sent back, Khalidi faces "serious risk of arbitrary detention, torture, and an unfair trial." An advocate for Saudi prisoners' rights, Khalidi left the kingdom in 2013 and claimed asylum in Bulgaria in 2021, but Bulgarian authorities on February 7 ordered him deported. “Deporting Khalidi may violate Bulgaria’s international obligations," including the Convention Against Torture, HRW said.
