Saudi Arabia is not a safe place for human rights lawyers.
Waleed Abu Al-Khair is behind bars there serving a 15-year sentence for trumped up terrorism charges. He has been brutally attacked by a fellow prisoner and harassed by prison authorities.
It keeps me up at night knowing that he is suffering like he is - just because he was willing to speak out for what he believes. Meanwhile, it is business as usual for the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia's repressive government.
Waleed is an activist and he cares about justice much like you and I do. He is a lawyer who heads the Saudi Arabia Monitor of Human Rights and also has represented other activists including his brother-in-law Raif Badawi.
Waleed reports that he's been deprived of sleep and kept in solitary confinement. They move him frequently from jail to jail and it's often difficult to find out where he is so that his family can visit him.