Ashraf Fayadh

Ashraf Fayadh
أشرف فياض
Born1980
Saudi Arabia
Occupation(s)Artist and poet
Criminal chargesapostasy
Criminal penalty
  • Beheading (original sentence; 2015; commuted)
  • Eight-year prison term with 800 lashes (subsequent replacement sentence)
AwardsOxfam Novib/PEN Award for Freedom of Expression (2017)

Ashraf Fayadh (Arabic: أشرف فياض; born 1980 in Saudi Arabia) is an artist and poet[1] of Palestinian origin. He is the son of refugees from Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip and lives in Saudi Arabia. He was active in the British-Arabian arts organization, Edge of Arabia,[2] and organized exhibitions of Saudi art in Europe and Saudi Arabia.

In November 2015, he was sentenced to death by beheading for apostasy.[3][4] The Saudi court overturned the death sentence three months later, imposing an eight-year prison term with 800 lashes.

  1. ^ Stoughton, India (28 March 2014). "Putting contemporary Saudi art in context". The Daily Star. Beirut. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian112015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Hubbard, Ben (22 November 2015). "Saudi Artist's Death Sentence Follows a String of Harsh Punishments". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  4. ^ Fahim, Kareem (10 January 2018). "As Saudi Arabia relaxes its controls on culture and entertainment, artists dream — and worry". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.