Prince William asked to raise case of Manchester man detained during visit to Saudi Arabia

The Prince of Wales has been asked to raise the case of a Manchester man detained in Saudi Arabia during his first official visit to the country.

In a letter shared exclusively with Sky News, Amnesty International has written to Prince William, sharing the plight of Ahmed al-Daush.

The father of four and senior banking analyst at Bank of America was returning from a holiday in Saudi Arabia with his wife and children in 2024 when he was arrested for past social media posts and in exile for his alleged affair with a Saudi critic, which he denies.

He was initially sentenced to ten years in prison, which has now been reduced to eight years.

Sky News contacted the Saudi Embassy for comment but did not receive a response.

Felix Jakens, Amnesty’s head of campaigns, told us, “It was surprising that the UK government and our economy and society are moving so close to Saudi Arabia, so we would expect to see a royal visit at some point.

“Obviously, what we want to do as a human rights organization is to make sure that human rights are part of that conversation…

“Obviously, we wouldn’t expect him (Prince William) to make big public statements about human rights in Saudi Arabia, but we know some of these issues are close to his and his wife’s hearts, so we would just ask him if he would like to raise Ahmed’s case personally.”

Speaking about the impact on the al-Daoush family, Mr al-Daoush’s legal representative, Heidi Dijkstal, said: “His wife has spoken about the key role Ahmed played in their family, not only as a provider, as the main provider for the family, but also as a loving father.

“And his absence is deeply missed by his wife and children and has had a serious impact on them.

“And this in addition to the fact that the most recent concerns about Ahmed’s health and well-being, and his mental health, and recent fears about his mental well-being, have led his wife to appeal directly to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.”

We understand that his case has been raised by the UK with Saudi authorities.

“We are supporting a British man who has been detained in Saudi Arabia, and we are in contact with his family and local authorities,” the Foreign Office told Sky News.

This journey will always have its own political sensitivities.

Kensington Palace would not comment on Amnesty’s letter, but speaking more broadly about Prince William’s three-day visit, a royal source said, “Prince William didn’t blink an eye [when asked to go].

“He knows this is an important part of his global role for UK plc.”

Prince William spent his first night in the kingdom with his royal counterpart Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia; the man is credited with having a more open and more modern approach to Saudi Arabia, although some believe he is not broad enough across the political spectrum.

But William’s first full day of engagements will be a showcase of how the country has liberalised and broadened its focus, meeting women’s soccer teams, talking about their energy transition away from oil dependence and taking part in an e-gaming competition, another part of how the kingdom is diversifying its economy and trying to attract global tourism visitors.

William has also been tasked with trying to maintain focus on the importance of the visit, after statements were released yesterday from him and Buckingham Palace about the Epstein files and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with the convicted paedophile.

Andrew has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.