Mercredi 21 aout 2013
The Saudi authorities continue to target members of the Association
for Civil and Political Rights(ACRPA) by means of imprisonment, travel
bans and judicial harassment.
On 9 March 2013, the Penal Court in Riyad issued its decision for the
immediate dissolution of the ACRPA, suspending all its activities and
confiscating its funds under the pretence that the Association did not
acquire a Governmental License. This decision formed part of a
systematic policy of repression against the ACRPA that has continued for
several years with the aim of stopping the Association’s activities
in defence of the civil and human rights of the country’s population.
A. The ACRPA and its members have been subjected to harassment on numerous previous occasions, as outlined below:
1. Fawzan Al-Harbi, founding member and Acting president of the ACRPA
On 22 May 2012, at approximately 11:30 pm, having received his
boarding ticket, Fawzan Al-Harbi was stopped by the authorities in order
to inspect his passport and he was led to another room where an officer
took his passport to examine it. After 15 minutes, the immigration
officer informed him that he was not allowed to travel and that he must
return to his home.
On 6 May 2013, Fawzan Al-Harbi received a phone call from
the Rawda police station regarding a summons issued by the Bureau of
Investigation and Prosecution in Riyad. The summons asserted that he had
to present himself in front of the aforementioned Bureau on 11 May 2013
which he duly did. He also attended many subsequent hearings.
Following a break in the investigation hearings, Fawzan Al-Harbi was notified on 10 July 2013 that the 7th hearing would be held on 15 July 2013 and the 8th and
last hearing would be held on 17 July 2013 where the investigation was
to be terminated. Despite this, the investigator notified Fawzan
Al-Harbi that he will be summoned again if required. The investigation
concentrated on the ACRPA’s statements and Fawzan Al Harbi’s twitter
account as well as his human rights activities.
At the end of the investigation hearings, Fawzan Al Harbi was told to
sign a pledge to terminate ACRPA and for him not to perform any legal
practice or else he would be referred to the court, as his colleagues
Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid and Dr Mohammed Al-Qahtani, had been. The human
rights defender refused to sign the pledge and confirmed that the ACRPA
would continue unless the verdict acquires final judicial approval and
he stated that he would not throw away his right to defend human rights.
On 29 July 2013 the human rights defender received a phone call from
the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution in Riyad requiring him to
appear before it on 30 July 2013 at 12:30. Upon his arrival, a new
investigation was opened. He was interrogated about new statements
issued by ACRPA which were not referred to in the previous investigation
hearings. The human rights defender has been informed that the new
investigation is being kept open. It is expected that he will be
summoned for interrogation immediately after any new statement issued by
the ACRPA.
2. Abdulaziz Al-Shibli, founding Member
Human rights defender, Abdulaziz Al-Shibli ,continues to be
subjected to harassment and threats of imprisonment due to his
membership of ACRPA and his activities in the field of human rights,
in particular his defence of some women who were arrested as a result
of exercising their civil rights through peaceful protest. Abdulaziz
Al-Shibli has acted as the attorney in law of Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Khoder
in his trial and was arrested by the police on claims that he defamed
them. He was taken to the police station for investigation in relation
to these claims and was subsequently released on bail.
3. Omar Al-Saeed, University Student, Supporting Member
On 16 April 2013, Omar Al-Saeed was called for investigation by the
General Investigation Service (The Secret Police) but refused to attend
due to the fact that only the Public Prosecution and the Investigation
Authority are competent to investigate pursuant to the law. On 21 April
2013 he was called by the Investigation Authority and the Public
Prosecution to appear before them on 28 April 2013 for investigation,
and he abstained from cooperation with the investigation when his
lawyers were not allowed to attend the hearing, depriving him of his
right before the law A decision was issued to arrest him.
On 8 June 2013, his brother and lawyer Abedallah Saeed visited him in
prison in Buraidah . He was informed about the continued targeting of
Omar Al-Saeed by means of defamation by the investigator who blackmailed
the human rights defender during the investigation by way of not
allowing him to sit his final university exams. He also informed his
brother that they put him in solitary confinement for 30 days.
On 10 June 2013, Omar Al-Saeed was presented before judge Issa Bin
Abedallah Al-Matroudi, the Buraidah Court judge, without his lawyers
being informed in order to execute the hearing in secret. The defendant
objected and refused to answer the questions directed at him in protest
at the secrecy of the trial which led the judge to postpone the
hearing to 11 July 2013. The hearing was postponed again without notice
to his lawyers to 18 July 2013 and was held.
However, before the hearing, the defendant was subjected to
physical harassment by one of the prisoners in an attempt to break his
spirit. The defence team presented a memorandum to the court in respond
to the charges against him. The following hearing took place on 18
August 2013 in which the defendant refused to answer the questions
directed to him by the judge in protest for not giving him the right to
consult with his defence team who were placed in the court room away
from him during the hearing in order to separate them. Such separation
is in direct contravention of Saudi law. The hearing was postponed to an
unknown date.
A number of alleged charges were made against Omar Al-Saeed ,
including "calling the Governing System, arbitrary, repressive, a
police state , oppressive and racial”, “ attempts to incite the public
opinion against the security services calling the latter, repressive,
torturer and terrorist” and “the membership and support of the suspected
and un-licensed ACRPA and its support to which a verdict was issued
towards its illegitimacy and its dissolution.”
4. Sheikh Suliaman Al-Rashudi , 76 years old, Lawyer and former Judge, President of ACRPA
Prominent human rights defender, lawyer and former judge, and head of
the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) Sheikh
Suliaman Al-Rashudi has a long history in calling for political and
human rights reform. He was one of the founders of the Legitimate Rights
Defense Committee in 1993, for which he was detained for 2 months and
his law practice was closed for 10 years.
On the morning of Wednesday, 12 December 2012, Sheikh Suliaman
Al-Rashudi, was arrested as he was on his way to the Al-Qassim region.
According to some reports, he was taken to the detention centre at "Naif
Academy for Security Sciences" located in the east of Riyadh city. The
arrest came hours after the publication on 10 December 2012 of a lecture
given by Sheikh Al-Rashoudi entitled "the rule of demonstrations and
sit-ins in Islamic law" in which he explained the legality of peaceful
demonstrations and sit-ins to claim confiscated rights.
Sheikh Al-Rashudi was arrested several times in the past, including
his arrest on 2 February 2007, by officials from the Directorate of
General Investigations (DGI) in Jeddah, together with eight other
advocates of reform and defense of civil rights who have been named
"Reformists of Jeddah". He spent nearly five years in continued
detention during which he was transferred between prisons in Jeddah. On
22 June 2011, Sheikh Al-Rashudi was been released on bail.
The nine detainees including Sheikh Al-Rashudi were convicted of
alleged involvement in, forming a secret organization, attempting to
seize power, incitement against the King, financing terrorism, and money
laundering. On 22 November 2011 the Specialized Criminal Court in
Riyadh handed out on the nine prominent advocates of reform prison
sentences ranging from five to 30 years. Suliaman Al-Rashudi was
sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and 15 years’ travel ban to take
effect following his release.
Although the case was at the appeal stage in the very same court, the
Saudi Interior Ministry used the verdict as a pretext to arrest Sheikh
Salman Al-Rashudi and imprison him. He was later transferred to the Al
Haer Prison in Riyadh where he was stripped of his visitation rights for
two months during which time he was put in solitary confinement. During
this time, the investigation focused on his lecture on the "Legitimacy
of Demonstrations in Islam". He was subsequently allowed to be visited
by his family. The Competent Penal Appeal Court ratified the verdict
hence becoming final after less than 2 months of his arrest.
5. Mohammed Saleh Al-Bajadi, founding member
On 19 September 2012, Mohammed Saleh Al-Bajadi, the
human rights defender, prisoner and one of the founding members of
ACRPA, started a hunger strike for the third time in protest against
his maltreatment and that of his prison mates and their seclusion from
the outside world. He wasn’t permitted to call his family until 3
July 2013 when he spoke to his wife and children to inform them that he
was in good health. His family managed to visit him only on 7 July 2013.
He had been detained without a trial on 4 of September
2007 till 01 January 2008 on the accusation of aiding a group of
family members of women who were detained, to protest legally in front
of the Emirate building in Buraidah in the Al-Qassim region.
In December 2010 he contributed to the publicizing of the death by
torture of a resident from Yemen, Sultan Al-Daees, in the Altareef
Prison in the Al-Qassim Region. He also talked to the media about the
case and became a target for prosecution and harassment by the security
authorities.
On 20 March 2011, in front of the Ministry of the Interior in Riyadh,
he took part in a rally of the families of the prisoners who had been
detained without arrest warrants. The security authorities used his
participation as an excuse to arrest him at his home in the city of
Buraidah the following day. He was isolated from the outside world and
was not allowed to be visited by his family four months.
His trial was carried out secretly in August 2011 at the Competent
Penal Court. Despite the defendant’s protest at the legitimacy of the
trial the secretive trial continued presided over by judge
Abedallateef Al-Abedallateef.
On 10 April 2012, a verdict was issued for the imprisonment of
Mohammad Al Bajady for 4 years and a travel ban was imposed on him for
another 5 years after his release. The charges of which he was allegedly
found guilty include :
1. The contribution to the foundation of a human rights organization (intended ACRPA)
2. Harming the image of the state through the media (in reference to the case of the resident from Yemen Sultan Al-Daees)
3. Contesting the independence of the judiciary.
4. calling on the families of detainees to demonstrations and sit-ins.
5. Being in possession of banned books .(Books he bought from the Book International Exhibition in Riyad)
Despite the passing of 2 years since the issuance of the verdict, it
remains preliminary and was not ratified by the Appeal Court. It is
worth mentioning that the Public Prosecution was the one who appealed
the verdict demanding a more severe punishment whereas the defendant
did not recognize the court and has not yet received the verdict as yet.
On 6 August 2013 at 4am, the human rights defender was released from
Hai'r prison. The authorities did not explain to him if his release is
temporary or permanent. He was released without being allowed to get his
personal belongings, including his phone. However, he has been able to
return to his family in the city of Buraidah.
In the days that followed his release, the authorities called his
brothers several times to ask them to go to Altarafiah political prison
to sign the release papers. They did so without being informed if the
release was temporarily or permanently.
On 15 August 2013, after receiving several calls from the Bureau of
Investigation and Prosecution requesting him to appear before it, he
went there and has not been released yet.
6. Saleh Al-Ashwan, supporting Member
On 7 July 2012, Saleh Al-Ashwan, supporting member of ACRPA, was
arrested. He is still being detained in Hai'r Prison in Riyadh despite
the passing of 6 months which is the maximum duration of preventive
detention as stated by the Saudi Laws for detention of the accused
(pursuant to Article 114 of Law of Criminal Procedures). He remains in
detention and has not been released or brought to trial.
He was targeted by the Security Authorities due to his activity in
the monitoring of human rights violations and his defense of detainees
and support for their families as well as for his monitoring of the
conditions of the Saudi detainees in the Iraqi Prisons.
Lawyer Abedalaziz Al-Husan was appointed officially to his defense,
and subsequently he asked the investigator to meet his client and to be
present during the investigation. However, the Branch of the Bureau of
Investigation and Prosecution (Public Prosecution) in Riyadh denied his
demands to meet with his client and to view the case file. The lawyer
was then told that Saleh Al-Ashwan and the case file were forwarded to
the General Investigation and the Branch had no more involvement with
the case.
Saleh Al-Ashwan was then subjected at the Criminal Investigation
Headquarters (Police) to torture, beatings and maltreatment especially
from the Officer Btahan Al-Qahtani who works for the Criminal
Investigation Unit. At the beginning of July 2013, he was transferred to
Thahban prison in Jeddah where he was presented to the Specialized
Penal Court. The judge proclaimed that the case of Saleh is not within
his competence lies within the remit of the Penal Court in Riyadh.
However the authorities informed the defendant’s brother when meeting
them in Jeddah that the case is within its competence but lacks some
documents and would be transferred to the investigation authorities to
complete the file of the case.
7. Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid and Dr Mohammed Al-Qahtani, founding members
Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid is a founding member of the ACRPA , and
acquired his doctorate from the Al-Azhar University. He is a thinker,
human rights defender and was a university instructor for Arab
Literature at the Imam Mohammad Bin Soud Islamic University before his
removal from his post in the mid 1990s due to his human rights
activities. He was one of the founders of the Legitimate Rights Defense
Committee in 1993. He was arrested and jailed 7 times and one of his
noteworthy arrests was at the formation of the Legitimate Rights
Defense Committee in 1993 where he was jailed for a few months. He was
arrested in 2004 for being one of the three reformers who were
arrested and brought to trial due to their demands for a constitutional
monarchy. Their imprisonment lasted for around 2 years and they were
then released through clemency. He was arrested again in 2008 and was
sentenced to six months in prison on accusation related to the
organization of a demonstration for the detainees family members without
getting a legal permission.
Dr Mohammed Al-Qahtani is also a founding member of ACRPA, a
professor at the Diplomatic Studies Institute, part of the Saudi
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and acquired his doctorate from the
American University of Indiana. He is a thinker, human rights defender,
writer, and has written for numerous Saudi newspapers. He was banned
from writing several times by the Saudi authorities. In November 2012 he
was nominated by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the 100 prominent
thinkers in the world.
On 9 March 2013 the eleventh hearing of the trial of leading human
rights defenders, Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid and Dr Mohammed Al Qahtani, the
co-founders ACPRA, was held at the Criminal Court in Riyadh, during
which the presiding judge Hammad Al-Omar issued the following sentences
and provisions:
1. Five years in prison for Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamed in addition to the 6
year sentence that he did not serve earlier in 2004 after a pardon, for
allegedly breaching the conditions of his release. Although, Dr.
Al-Hamed pointed out that the pardon was not conditional and he did not
sign any declaration. This brings the total sentence to eleven years.
2. 10 years in prison for Dr. Mohammed Al-Qahtani.
3. Preventing the defendants from travelling after the expiration of the term of imprisonment for duration equal to the number of years in prison for each one of them.
2. 10 years in prison for Dr. Mohammed Al-Qahtani.
3. Preventing the defendants from travelling after the expiration of the term of imprisonment for duration equal to the number of years in prison for each one of them.
The issuance of these sentences and provisions came after Dr.
Al-Hamid and Dr Al-Qahtani were convicted of 12 alleged
charges including "Refusing to submit to the will of the King",
"Incitement" and "Communicating with foreign entities." Although, the
verdict was preliminary and could be appealed, the judge decided to
imprison the two human rights defenders.
The persistent targeting of the defendants is shown by the
continuous harassment even while they were in prison, where Dr.
Al-Qahtani was called by the Hai'r Penal Prison Administration on 25 July
2013 and was informed that he will be separated from Dr. Al-Hamid and
transferred to another wing. When he objected, he was told that this
decision was taken by the higher authorities. He insisted on objecting
to the arbitrary decision and was put in solitary confinement. As a
result he went on hunger strike for 24 hours after which he was
returned his return to the same wing as Dr. Al Hamid but to a different
cell. Their lawyer was prevented from visiting them on 29 July
2013 and both human rights defenders were told to choose different
lawyers and to stop working with the same defence team. However, they
refused to sign any document to that effect and confirmed that their
case is one as the verdict includes 50 joint pages and as such it is
logical for them to have the same lawyer and they insisted of on working
with the defence team.
8. Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Khoder, founding member
Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Khoder is a founding member of ACRPA and
professor of comparative Jurisprudence literature at the University of
Al Al-Qassim. He was banned from teaching due to his work in the field
of human rights and his activity with ACRPA. He has produced research
and articles which analyzed the official discourse as being
anti-democratic and anti-human rights. Therefore he was targeted by the
security authorities who requested him to abstain from his human
rights work which he categorically refused to do.
In Buraidah, he faced trial at the Penal Court, the hearings of
which started on 11 February 2013 and were presided over by judge
Ibrahim Al-Hassny who ordered him to four months detention on 24 April
2013. The sentencing took place at the fourth hearing when the judge
refused entry of women to the court. Such a restriction led to the
refusal by the human rights defender to enter the court and consequently
the judge ordered his arrest. He remains in detention at Buraidah
Public Prison.
On 24 June 2013, the Penal Court in Buraidah issued the verdict of
imprisonment of Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Khoder to 8 years in prison, to
include a five-year suspended sentence and a travel ban for 10 years. He
was indicted on alleged charges of disobedience of the ruler,
instigation to cause chaos through the organization of protests and
demonstrations, tarnishing of the state image by publishing false
information and distributing it to foreign organizations, and the
collaboration in the founding of a non licensed Association (ACRPA). He
has been continuously harassed in prison and subjected to verbal abuse
by the other prisoners.
9. Members of the ACRPA who are prevented from travelling
and have been subjected to Arbitrary Arrest or Investigation and Trial
The list below includes members of ACRPA who have been prevented
from travelling outside of the Saudi Kingdom and have been subjected to
arbitrary arrest, investigation and trial at any time:
Founding Members:
Dr. Abeda-l rahman Hamid Al -Hamid
Issa Hamid Al-Hamid
Saoud Ahmad Al-Daghayther
Supporting Members:
Abdualla Mohammad Al-Saeed
B. The Administrative Court Refusal of the Registration of the Justice Center for Human Rights
After more than a year and a half of continuous attempts to register Adala (Justice) Centre for Human Rights,
which included 13 Appeal hearings at the Administrative Court in Al
-Dammam City, on 7 July 2013 the Court issued its decision on the
refusal of the registration of the Centre, on the grounds that the
Center’s objectives were incompatible with the Charitable Associations
and Organizations Law to No. 107 of year 1990 issued by the Cabinet.
This aforementioned refusal had the consequence of putting an end to
all the Center’s peaceful activities in the field of human rights. On 7 July 2013, the Center filed an appeal against the decision at the Administrative Appeal Court in the Eastern Region.
The activists unofficially founded Adala, on 10 December
2011 to coincide with International Human Rights Day. A letter
announcing its foundation was sent to senior government officials
including King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, and Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Interior Naif bin Abdulazizn as well as to the
official Human Rights Commission and the National Society for Human
Rights.
Adala’s objectives include, monitoring and documenting human
rights cases, providing information to citizens and immigrants on
their legal and human rights, and promoting a culture of respect for
human rights in Saudi society. Adala intends to rely on the
principles of international human rights laws, regional conventions, and
relevant national legislation to govern its work and activities.
C. Recommendation:
The Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) believes that the targeting
of the members of ACRPA by imprisonment and the imposition of
travel bans, judicial harassments, and the refusal to grant a permit to
register the Justice for Human Rights Center as a non-governmental
institution, are all direct attempts by the Saudi authorities to
prevent legal and peaceful activities in defence of human rights in
the Kingdom. The GCHR sees the decision to refuse granting of licenses
to human rights organizations as a continuation of the trend of the
targeting of human rights defenders by the Saudi government.
The Gulf Center for Human Rights urges the authorities of the Arab Saudi Kingdom to:
1 – Release all human rights defenders including members of ACRPA,
drop all the charges directed against them promptly and
unconditionally, as they have been targeted as a result of their
peaceful and legitimate activities in defence of human rights.
2 – Reverse the decision to dissolve the ACRPA as it is performing
peaceful and legitimate activities such as the writing of reports of
human rights violations and supporting families of detainees.
3 – Affirm the cancellation of the decision rejecting the grant of
the registration permit to the Justice for Human Rights Center, and
guarantee to give the permit immediately to enable it to execute its
peaceful and legitimate activities in the defence of Human Rights.
4 – Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders
in Saudi Arabia are able to carry out their legitimate human rights
activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions
including judicial harassment.
The GCHR respectfully reminds the authorities in Saudi Arabia that
the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of
Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect
Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by
consensus by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1998, recognizes the
legitimacy of the activities of human rights defenders, their right to
freedom of association and to carry out their activities without fear of
reprisals. We would particularly draw your attention to Article 6 (c) “Everyone
has the right, individually and in association with others: (c) To
study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law
and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and,
through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to
those matters” and to Article 12.2, which provides that “the
State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the
competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with
others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure
adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to
in the present Declaration”.
We also wish to draw your attention in particular to Article 5 (b), which states:
Article 5(b) “For the purpose of promoting and protecting human
rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually
and in association with others, at the national and international
levels:(b)To form, join and participate in non-governmental
organizations, associations or groups;” and to article 6(c) “Everyone
has the right, individually and in association with others: To study,
discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in
practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through
these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those
matters.”
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