Wife:Saudi human rights activist jailed, 'in a terrible state'

(CNN) - The wife of a Saudi Arabian political science professor and outspoken human rights advocate said she visited her husband in jail Saturday, and he has launched a hunger strike in an effort to get authorities to tell him why he is detained.

"Prison guards took me to a room and then brought my husband to see me," Jamila al-Uqla told CNN. "He's ill - he hasn't eaten or brushed his hair or teeth since he was detained."
She added, "He's in a terrible state."

Her husband, Matrook al-Faleh, was seized at King Saud University in Riyadh on Monday, she said.

Human Rights Watch, which issued a report condemning the arrest and urging al-Faleh's release, said his detention came "two days after he publicly criticized conditions in a prison where two other Saudi human rights activists are serving jail terms."

On Friday, al-Uqla said she and al-Faleh, 54, are patriotic Saudis. Phone calls to Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry seeking comment were not answered.