Saudi authorities detain clerics and activists in a 2018 sweep
In September 2018 Saudi authorities detained prominent clerics and activists, including names later tied to the post-Khashoggi climate. In the causal graph this event weakens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — a worsening welfare path.
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In September 2018 Saudi authorities detained prominent clerics and activists, including names later tied to the post-Khashoggi climate.
Context
State security detained. Trials followed for some. He owned the security file. He did not write every charge sheet.
Khashoggi 2 October is a different date weeks later. Ritz 2017 is a different cluster.
The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia chairs the Council of Ministers and, in practice, the Public Investment Fund and Vision 2030 delivery. The King remains head of state. Royal decrees, cabinet decisions, and PIF board papers are the instruments. He does not write a UN resolution, an ODNI assessment, or a US CAATSA designation.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Direct responsibility
responsibility level 0.55 · verified
State security detained. He owned the security weather. Courts later sat for some.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactSaudi authorities detain clerics and activists in a 2018 sweep
- weakensDriverDemocratic Resilience
- strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
impact weight 0.5 · Effect from 4 September 2018 · verified
A completed sweep of independent clerics and activists reduces remaining public dissent.
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.35 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.7)
Observed
29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).
20212023 Above normal = better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.23 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.45)
Observed
0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normal125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.
Above normal = better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.23 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.45)
Observed
0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalAbove normal = better
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Reuters — Saudi arrests of clerics and activistsReuters · High credibility · verified
- 2.Saudi Press Agency — announcement of Decisive Storm, March 2015Saudi Press Agency · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
Saudi Press Agency carries the official instrument or communique. Reuters records the same dated act independently.
Established: September 2018 detentions of clerics and activists, independently reported.
Not established: that every detainee was held solely for speech, or a unique later religiosity coefficient.
He owned the security weather. Courts later sat for some.. A later repeal, court stay, or successor order would be a different Fact with a different date. That pair identifies Saudi authorities detain clerics and activists in a 2018 sweep, not a later speech about Saudi authorities detain clerics and activists in a 2018 sweep.
Co-authors and later implementers named in Context remain on the file. If a later repeal, stay, or successor decree exists, it needs its own date and its own row. The contribution described on this Person row is limited to State security detained. He owned the security weather. Courts later sat for some. That limit is the alternative to treating office-holding as authorship of every later series. The King, cabinet, PIF, Aramco, and foreign counterparties share specific files. Allegation is not a completed judgment. An intelligence assessment is not a criminal conviction.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorMohammed bin Salman Al Saud
- contributed toFactSaudi authorities detain clerics and activists in a 2018 sweep
- weakensDriverDemocratic Resilience
- strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). Saudi authorities detain clerics and activists in a 2018 sweep. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/sa-social-media-arrests-2018
https://factrail.ai/facts/sa-social-media-arrests-2018
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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