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Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Hussan is a lawyer and reformist born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In late 2011, following the Arab Spring, Al-Hussan began to represent the cases of political detainees and speak out against government injustice via Twitter. After threat of travel ban and imprisonment, Al-Hussan moved to the United States to study law and provide a voice for those who remain voiceless in the Kingdom.

Al-Hussan has been a scholar in the Center for Constitutional Democracy at Indiana Law School, and is now working towards his doctoraral dissertation in the Iowa College of Law. His work focuses on the study of constitutional change in Saudi Arabia and how a transition from absolute monarchy to limited monarchy would affect the Arabian country. He recently founded the Dir'iyah Institution (DIW) in Washington D.C., an independent non-profit dedicated to studies of the Arabian Peninsula with a focus on constitutional law, reform, and history.

Al-Hussan's talk will provide a broad overview of the current Saudi legal system and the nature of human rights in the Kingdom before delving into the complex and tenuous relationships that exist between the Saudi government and Western nations. Al-Hussan will present paths toward human rights progress in the Saudi Arabia and offer solutions to the violence and secrecy that have plagued the country for decades.

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