If someone you know is detained in Saudi Arabia
If someone you know is arrested or detained in Saudi Arabia, contact their embassy or consulate and speak to a licensed Saudi lawyer. Family abroad can usually do both without travelling to Saudi Arabia. What happens next depends on why the person is held and which stage the case has reached.
Published by RAED ALI ALJOHANI COMPANY FOR Lawyership and Legal Consultations · Last updated
General information about Saudi law — not advice on your situation.
At a glance
- Who this is for
- Family and friends, in Saudi Arabia or abroad, of a foreigner held by the police or another authority in Saudi Arabia.
- Can it be handled from outside Saudi Arabia?
- Partly. Family abroad can usually contact the embassy and hire a lawyer from home. Some steps may need someone in Saudi Arabia, such as signing the lawyer’s authority.
- What usually decides the route
- Why the person is held (if anyone knows), which stage the case has reached, and what written authority the lawyer needs, and from whom.
- What you usually need first
- What you know: who, where, when, and who told you. No ID copies or documents yet.
- First step with us
- Call us, or send a few lines on what happened.
- Working languages
- Arabic and English
If someone has been detained, message us: who it is, where they are if you know, and when it happened. Please don’t send ID copies or documents yet.
Can family abroad help someone detained in Saudi Arabia without travelling there?
Usually, yes, for the first steps. From your own country, you can contact the person’s embassy or consulate. You can also hire a licensed Saudi lawyer by phone, WhatsApp or email, and get updates through the lawyer.
The lawyer then explains what written authority they need, and from whom, before they can represent the person. The lawyer may ask a family member abroad to sign a power of attorney. This is a signed document that lets someone, such as a lawyer, act for you. If you are asked to sign one, you sign it in your own country. It then usually needs official certification there before Saudi offices accept it. Depending on the country, this is an apostille or legalisation.
- Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad
- Apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country
Saudi courts hold most hearings (court sessions) online. So the family can usually follow the case through the lawyer from home. We tell you early if any step needs someone in Saudi Arabia.
What should the family do first when someone is detained in Saudi Arabia?
Start with these 6 steps. Tell the person’s embassy or consulate. Choose one family member to be the contact. Write down what you know, with dates and times. Speak to a licensed Saudi lawyer early. Be careful with anyone who asks for money and promises a release. Do not post about it online. These first steps keep the facts clear and avoid making the matter harder to handle. Family abroad can usually take all of them from home.
- Tell the person’s embassy or consulate. It can stay in contact with the person.
- Choose one family member to speak to the embassy and the lawyer. One contact keeps messages clear and avoids mixed instructions.
- Write down what you know, with dates and times. Keep every call log, text message and notice you receive.
- Speak to a licensed Saudi lawyer early. Check that the lawyer is licensed before you pay anyone.
- Be careful with anyone who asks for money and promises a release. A licensed lawyer will not promise an outcome.
- Do not post about the person or the detention online. Posts spread, cannot be taken back, and can make the matter harder to handle.
Ask the embassy and the lawyer what contact with the person is possible. If something else urgent is happening, such as a notice from a court, see urgent legal help in Saudi Arabia: what to do first.
What can the embassy or consulate do for someone detained in Saudi Arabia?
An embassy or consulate stays in contact with a detained citizen of its country and can share a list of local lawyers. It does not represent anyone in Saudi courts. What it offers depends on the country.
A consulate is an office of your country’s government that helps its citizens abroad, much like an embassy. Contact the embassy of the country whose passport the person holds.
Some governments publish guidance for families of people detained abroad. The UK, Canadian and US pages under Official sources are examples. Your own government may publish similar pages. According to the Government of Canada’s guidance, consular officers can share a list of local lawyers but cannot get someone out of jail or recommend a lawyer. So check the licence of any lawyer before you hire them.
In most cases the family needs both: the embassy for contact and support, and a licensed Saudi lawyer for the case itself. Our page on facing a case, an arrest or a travel ban in Saudi Arabia shows who does what.
How does a family hire a Saudi lawyer for someone in detention?
Contact a licensed Saudi lawyer, share the facts you have, and agree the terms in writing before any work starts. Family abroad can usually do all of this by phone, WhatsApp or email.
When you contact us, we tell you whether we can help, what we need and how fees are agreed. Work starts only after an engagement letter is signed. An engagement letter is the written agreement between you and the firm. You arrange payment directly with the firm, never on this site. Our page on how legal fees work in Saudi Arabia explains the usual ways fees are set.
The lawyer also explains what written authority is needed to act for the person, and who has to give it. This depends on the case. So wait for the lawyer’s advice before you sign or certify any document.
Before you hire anyone, check that they are a licensed lawyer. The Saudi Bar Association is the professional body for lawyers in Saudi Arabia. Its public Lawyers Index lists licensed lawyers. Our page on how to check a Saudi lawyer’s licence from anywhere shows the steps.
What happens after someone is arrested in Saudi Arabia?
The case moves through stages. It usually goes from the police to the Public Prosecution, the authority that investigates crimes and takes criminal cases to court. The Public Prosecution decides whether to charge the person. If there is a charge, the case goes to court.
A lawyer can tell the family which stage the case has reached, and what usually comes next. Our guide to the criminal process in Saudi Arabia, stage by stage explains each stage in order.
How helping someone detained in Saudi Arabia usually works, step by step
Most matters follow these steps, although the order can change.
- Tell us what you know. Who the person is, where they are held if you know, when it happened and who told you. No documents yet.
- Hear whether we can help. We tell you what we need from you and how fees are agreed.
- Sign the engagement letter. Work starts only after it is signed.
- Give the lawyer the written authority they ask for. Where a lawyer helps: explaining what authority is needed, and from whom. If a family member signs it abroad, see power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad.
- Let the lawyer find out the stage. The lawyer finds out which authority holds the case and what stage it has reached.
- Get updates through one family contact. We keep the family updated, within what the law allows and what the person agrees to share.
What to prepare before you contact a Saudi lawyer
A short outline is enough for a first message. Leave out ID numbers and passport details.
- Who the person is (name only) and how you are related
- The person’s nationality, so you know which embassy to contact
- Where they are held, if you know
- When it happened, or when you first heard
- Who told you, and how: a call, a text message or a notice
- Any case or file number shown in a message
- The name of anyone you have already spoken to at the embassy
- Where you are now, and how we can reach you
Keep the rest ready. We tell you what to send after we agree to act.
Frequently asked questions
How long can someone be held in Saudi Arabia before a decision on charges?
There is no single answer. The official rules set limits for each stage, and what applies depends on the case. A lawyer can tell the family which stage the case has reached and what usually comes next. Our guide to the criminal process explains the stages in order.
Can the embassy get a detained person released in Saudi Arabia?
No. An embassy or consulate stays in contact with its citizen and can share a list of local lawyers. It does not represent anyone in Saudi courts. A licensed Saudi lawyer does that.
How are fees agreed when a family hires a Saudi lawyer?
In writing, before any work starts. We first tell you whether we can help and what we need. Then we set out the terms in an engagement letter. You pay the firm directly, never through this site. See how legal fees work in Saudi Arabia.
Why shouldn’t we post about the detention online?
Posts spread widely and cannot be taken back. They can also make the matter harder to handle. Share the details only with the embassy and the lawyer.
Can you promise that the person will be released?
No. Saudi professional rules don’t allow lawyers to promise results they don’t control, and we wouldn’t. What we can do is explain in writing which steps apply and what our terms are.
Official sources
This page draws on 4 official sources. Each line shows who publishes it, its language and, where recorded, the date we last checked it.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (an example; your own government may publish similar guidance) · Information pack for British prisoners in Saudi Arabia (in English) · checked
- Government of Canada (an example; your own government may publish similar guidance) · Arrest and detention (in English) · checked
- U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Saudi Arabia (an example; your own government may publish similar guidance) · Arrest of a U.S. Citizen (in English) · checked
- Saudi Bar Association · Lawyers Index (in Arabic and English) · checked
What usually comes next
General information about Saudi law, not advice on your situation. Contacting us does not create a lawyer–client relationship until an engagement letter is signed.