Abdullah Alaoudh
# Abdullah Alaoudh

Abdullah Alaoudh is a legal scholar from Saudi Arabia. He currently holds the position of director of research for the Gulf Region at Democracy for the Arab World Now and is one of the co-founders of the Saudi National Assembly Party. Alaoudh has been actively involved in advocating for democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia as a signatory to the Saudi People's Vision for Reform, which outlines a blueprint for these principles in the country.

## Education

Abdullah Alaoudh pursued his LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. His doctoral research focused on the role of religious institutions in post-revolutionary Arab countries and their significance in the transition to democracy. Prior to this, he completed his bachelor's degree in Islamic law from Qassim University.

## Career

In his academic career, Alaoudh has held various prestigious positions. He was a Sponsored University Associate and Former Senior Fellow at the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, located within the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Additionally, he served as a fellow at the Yaqeen Institute. During 2017–2018, he was a Research Scholar in Law and an Islamic Law & Civilization Research Fellow at Yale Law School.

## Personal life

Abdullah Alaoudh is the son of Salman Aloudah, a 63-year-old scholar of Islamic law in Saudi Arabia known for his reformist views.

## Advocacy for his father

His father has been in solitary confinement since his arrest on 10 September 2017. The reason for his arrest was an expression of his desire for reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which he conveyed through a tweet. Following his arrest, Saudi authorities held him without any formal charges for a year. However, Attorney General Saud Al Mojeb of Saudi Arabia is seeking the death penalty for Salman Aloudah based on 37 charges.

Abdullah Alaoudh has contributed articles to various international publications, including The Guardian, where he advocates for international pressure to halt his father's execution, as he views it as an act of "state-sanctioned murder." Additionally, he has publicly voiced concerns about the mistreatment his father endured while in detention and has been a vocal advocate for his father's release.

