Demonstrations in Saudi's eastern province by members of the Shiite minority group calling for the release of prisoners have at times turned deadly.

[2] The charges against al-Hamid include "spreading chaos, destabilizing public order, attempting to impede development in the country and questioning the integrity of official clerics by accusing them of being tools for the royal family".

[3] Matrouk al-Faleh was arrested 19 May 2008, at his office at King Saud University in Riyadh, where he was professor of political science, and released on 10 January 2009.

[8] Abdulaziz al-Hussan, who defended Mohammad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamid, was detained and interrogated in the spring of 2013, shortly after posting to Twitter about his clients’ detention conditions.

[10] On 7 September 2012, Amnesty International called for charges against al-Hamid and Mohammad al-Qahtani to be dropped, saying the case appeared to be "based solely on their legitimate work to defend human rights in Saudi Arabia and their criticism of the authorities."

[5] In January 2020, al-Hamid, who had hypertension, was advised by a doctor that he needed open-heart surgery, but "prison authorities threatened to cut off his contact with his family if he told his relatives about his condition".