Rami is a London businessman and resident whose British wife and three British children live in London. He was educated in the United States from the age of 13, and has longstanding business links there.
He was abducted from Dubai Airport on 4th November 2017, while returning from his father's book tour in Australia. He was detained despite having no political involvement and having lived for the most part outside of Saudi Arabia since childhood. His family have never been told why he was detained in 2017.
The UAE authorities abducted him at the Dubai Airport. He was not told why. Shackled and blindfolded, he was driven to Abu Dhabi. He was taken to an airport where a private jet was waiting. He was put on the aircraft alone, and flown to Saudi Arabia where he was taken to the now notorious Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.
Rami was initially held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, where he was interrogated, electrocuted, waterboarded, beaten and psychologically tortured. They told him – falsely – that his father was also being tortured next door. When he was released in January 2018, he was forced to sign a declaration under duress, that he would pay billions of Saudi Riyals – which neither he nor his family possess. (Today, one billion Saudi Riyals is equal to nearly £200 million, or US$260 million—an outrageous amount well outside his means.) He remained under electronic surveillance and was banned from leaving Saudi Arabia. In 2022, he disappeared again for nearly two years and was subjected to further torture before re-emerging in July 2024. His family were totally unaware of his whereabouts or whether he was alive or dead. We now know that he was mistreated again during this period.
Rami remains trapped in Saudi Arabia, unable to leave, constantly monitored. At any point, he could be taken, imprisoned, and tortured again.
He has recently faced a secret trial, falsely charged with “participating in the exploitation of official influence” of his father, former oil minister, Ali Al Naimi. For this he has been sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment. He remains under strict movement conditions and cannot leave the country whilst he waits for his sentence to be enforced. He stays with his father and mother in the Eastern Province.
He is now facing a second trial for allegedly following certain accounts on X (Twitter) critical of the Kingdom, and attempting to leave the Kingdom without permission, both of which he strongly denies.
His British wife Mira and their three British children have been separated from him for nine years. The children can only communicate with their father through monitored video calls. They cannot visit him due to safety concerns and the fear they will be detained themselves.
The family has tried quiet diplomacy for years through international behind-the-scenes action, but Rami has now been wrongly convicted and faces a second unfair trial. The family believes public pressure is necessary if they are to see Rami again.
They have not been able to discuss this campaign with Rami as he is constantly monitored. They fear that without international attention, he may never be allowed to return home to London or may be incarcerated in Saudi Arabia for life, or worse.
This is a British family; Mira and her three children hold British passports. Rami is a European Union citizen with deep US ties, and the British government should be doing all that it can to support them, while working with the US and EU to protect the human rights of this London-based family.
Several British parliamentarians are supporting the family's campaign and calling for stronger government action.
Legal experts describe Rami’s treatment as part of Saudi Arabia's broader pattern of transnational repression that included the 2017 roundup of Saudi nationals worldwide and preceded the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The notorious Ritz-Carlton hotel where Rami was tortured was the same location where other detainees were held during this period.
The family is calling for Rami's immediate release and return to London, stronger diplomatic pressure from the UK government, UN and EU, and international attention to prevent similar cases of arbitrary detention and torture. They also warn people not to travel to Saudi Arabia or the UAE, as Rami was abducted from a UAE airport.
No. The family fears that they could be detained if they travel to Saudi Arabia, so they have been advised not to visit for their own safety.
Rami’s father is Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi. He was the first Saudi national to head Aramco – originally the Arabian American Oil Company – which became Saudi Aramco in 1988, and later the oil minister in from 1995 to 2016. He was named adviser to the Royal Court by King Salman. A Bedouin, Al-Naimi published his memoir, Out of the Desert, in 2016, which charts his journey to becoming Oil Minister and gives insight into the politics in the Kingdom. Now 95 years old, he is seriously ill and bed-bound.
He founded Summit Technologies in Texas in 1992 with his US business partner, and worked with various service sector businesses, including in Australia, Bahrain, Dubai, the UK and US. He previously worked for a year at Aramco.
