Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi (born 1993, Riyadh) is a Saudi journalist and human rights defender. From 2011 to 2013, he was an active member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and participated in peaceful civil society campaigns including “Prisoners Until When”, calling for constitutional governance in Saudi Arabia.

Angesichts zunehmender staatlicher Repression war er 2013 gezwungen, Saudi-Arabien zu verlassen. Die folgenden Jahre verbrachte er in der Türkei (wo seine Familie bleibt), in Katar und in Ägypten und setzte seine Fürsprache und journalistische Arbeit im Exil fort. Er rückte näher an das Netzwerk saudischer Dissidenten und Journalisten um Jamal Khashoggi heran, der im Oktober 2018 von Agenten des saudischen Staates getötet wurde.

In October 2021, following the expiry of his travel documents (which he could not renew without risk of Khashoggi’s fate at a Saudi consulate), he travelled on foot to Bulgaria and immediately applied for asylum. He has been in administrative immigration detention since that date — first at the Busmantsi detention centre in Sofia, later transferred to Lyubimets. He has never been charged with a criminal offence. Bulgarian courts have ordered his release twice; neither order was executed by the security services.

Aus der Haft heraus schreibt er weiter: Essays, Briefe und geopolitische Analysen, veröffentlicht auf Bulgarisch, Englisch, Italienisch und Arabisch in Medien wie Marginalia, Melting Pot Europa, Substack und News.bg.