Methodology Access to Saudi Arabia for human rights organizations to freely conduct in-country research has long been highly restricted. Human Rights Watch was granted permission to conduct a research mission in Saudi Arabia in November-December 2006. Human Rights Watch staff have visited Saudi Arabia six times since then, but these visits remained tightly circumscribed. allowing independent criticism and free expression more broadly has been dismal, particularly over the past decade. Dozens of activists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and journalists have been prosecuted for peaceful dissent. Saudi citizens and foreign workers living in Saudi Arabia are often wary of carrying out extended conversations on human rights issues via telephone or email, fearing government surveillance that is widespread across social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. For this report, Justice Project Pakistan researchers interviewed twelve Pakistani citizens detained and put on trial in Saudi Arabia in recent years, as well as seven family members of nine other defendants. All interviews took place in Pakistan apart from two telephone interviews with Pakistani inmates in Saudi prisons. Researchers interviewed these individuals between November 2015 and September 2016. Interviews were conducted in Urdu and Punjabi. The criminal cases involved 21 total defendants in 19 separate cases that ranged from minor crimes such as petty theft and document forgery to serious offenses, including murder and drug smuggling, which are often capital offenses in Saudi Arabia. Where available, Human Rights Watch and Justice Project Pakistan incorporated Researchers informed all participants of the purpose of the interview and the ways in which the data would be used and were given assurances of anonymity. This report uses pseudonyms for all interviewees and withholds other identifying information to protect their privacy and their security. None of the interviewees received financial or other incentives for speaking with Human Rights Watch and Justice Project Pakistan. On September 9, 2016, Human Rights Watch and Justice Project Pakistan sent a letter to seek information on embassy services provided to Pakistani citizens who face criminal 9 MARCH 2018