Nine years of quiet diplomacy have failed to secure the release of a businessman allegedly abducted by Saudi authorities, his British family has said. Rami Naimi was first allegedly picked up in Dubai in 2017 when he was returning from Australia with his father. 

He was subject to torture and released a year later, The Guardian reported. 

A father of three and son of former Saudi oil minister and Aramco chief Ali Al-Naimi, the businessman was detained again in 2022. He was then held for two years. Last year, he was sentenced to six years in prison following a secret trial.

“The first thing I wanted to do was speak out, but I was told no,” said his wife, Mira Lozi, speaking alongside her son at a campaign launch to bring Naimi home in London on Tuesday.

“For nine years my children and I have lived through a nightmare,” she said. “Saying the truth today is like a liberation, enough is enough and we’re just hoping that we can end this nightmare and all the governments will be able to help us.”

Naimi faces a second trial in Saudi Arabia over claims that he followed X accounts critical of the government. His trial will also be based on his reported attempt to leave the country without permission. He denies both allegations, The Guardian report added.

His wife Lozi, who is fighting cancer, said she was urged to remain silent since 2017 to help secure his release.

Naimi left Saudi Arabia at 13 and later lived and worked in the UK, US and Middle East. He was detained with Saudi Arabia’s powerful elite during the 2017 Ritz-Carlton purge, when princes, tycoons and ministers were stripped of their fortunes. The crackdown came before journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

After his release in March 2025, Naimi was placed under electronic monitoring and a travel ban. He then learned of charges accusing him of using his father’s influence and acting for a US company to help Aramco secure a technology contract.

After seven years without charges, he was sentenced to six years in prison following a secret trial. He is unable to leave Saudi Arabia, while his communications with family are monitored.

He has no idea, the family said, of their decision to go public with his case.