" On 30 May 2008 the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association wrote to you to express our deep concern over the arrest and detention of Professor Matrouk Al-Faleh of the Department of Political Science at King Saud University. Professor Al-Faleh was arrested sometime after leaving his house on May 19, 2008. Since sending that letter, additional, disturbing information about Prof. Al-Faleh’s situation has come to our attention. Although formal charges have still not been brought against him, we have learned that he has been imprisoned in Al-Hair prison, a maximum security facility. It is also our understanding that he has now been officially dismissed from his position as professor of political science with no possibility of reinstatement. Moreover, to underline his insistence on having a lawyer present during any interrogation, Prof. Faleh has undertaken a hunger strike."