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Is It Reshoudi’s Trial Or The Grievances Court’s Trial?
[8/29/2010 Riyadh] The defense team (of Judge Suliman Ibrahim Al-Reshoudi) would like to explain to those concerned the proceedings of the eight court session (announcement of verdict), held on Saturday, August 28, 2010.
In that court hearing, the defense team presented a three-page document, while the representative of the MOI (DGI) did not attend the court hearing for the third consecutive time, and for the fourth time during the court sessions.
MOI’s behavior indicates its mockery of the judiciary, local, international human rights organizations, and violating the citizens’ fundamental rights.
A complete, detailed statement covering every aspect of the August 28, 2010 trial has been published. Read statement in Arabic and English.
Judge Reshoudi Remains Jailed
Saudi Arabia preparing charges against activist: lawyer
Sat Aug 28, 2010 11:17am EDT RIYADH (Reuters) – A prominent Saudi human rights activist will remain in jail, more than three years after his arrest, as state prosecutors are preparing charges against him and other activists, his lawyers said on Saturday.
On Saturday, a court in the capital Riyadh decided it would not deal with the lawsuit as the Interior Ministry had informed it late on Friday that another judge was handling the case and that charges were now being prepared, said Abdulaziz al-Wahabi, one of Reshoudi’s lawyers.
“The judge said the case was out of its jurisdiction. It’s very disappointing,” he said, adding that lawyers had been informed that another judge in Jeddah, where Reshoudi was arrested in February 2007, was now dealing with the case.
“We don’t know yet what he will be charged with. The judge said another judge came to the prison on August 15 to tell him to get a lawyer,” Wahabi said, adding
the charge sheet now being prepared was more than 60 pages long.
Human Rights First Society, an independent Saudi-based group, said it was disappointing that Rusheidi remained in jail more than three years after his arrest.
“It is unbelievable that the Interior Ministry sent last night, just before the court session, a telegram to inform about the charges. They could have done it a long time ago,” said its President Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb. More…
(Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jon Hemming)
Evidence Shows That The Saudi Regime Is A Police State Masquerading As A Theocracy
Date: August 22, 2010. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
To: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
We commend the steps you have taken towards reform, and remind you that the effort – in spite of its good intention and its magnitude – will be windswept, unless it’s protected by further strategic steps. These steps first and for most must include obliterating the disease-causing bacterium, which is despotism. Social, educational, municipal, or economic reforms-unless built on a democratic system of governance that emerges from the principle of the people’s stewardship over the government- can easily be demolished. In other words, these reform initiatives are precarious as long as people are disenfranchised from the political process, because enfranchising people can deter corrupt despots who usually hinder reform.
Since the Gulf war (1990 ), democracy advocates have been sending evidence after evidence to the leaderships that shows that the Saudi regime has been continuously and systematically violating fundamental human rights. Especially the rights of the accused and prisoners which are systematically violated in spite of signing many international human rights conventions. In addition, the Saudi judiciary continues to legitimize these unjust practices which lethally and systematically violate human rights. All these violations have been highlighted in the last statement issued by the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) a few weeks ago, which titled: “The non-independent judiciary is one of the pillars of injustice that produces violence, how could its secret tribunals be trusted to render justice?” Sent to the Royal Court on Sunday, 4th of July 2010, proves that the control of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) has transformed the political system into a police-state style.
The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)
Read More… in English
ONGOING CASE:
Human rights defender Mikhlif Al-Shommari remains in arbitrary detention and faces charges of “annoying others” 2010/07/23 FRONT LINE
Human rights defender Mr M ikhlif bin Dahham Al-Shommari is being detained on charges of “annoying others”. More. . .
Human Rights First Society (HRFS) serves a very important function working as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Saudi Arabia to monitor reported human rights abuses and advocate for the victims. HRFS uses all peaceful means to advocate that the Saudi government respects and defends all human rights. More…
Human Rights First Society (HRFS) has two Websites Arabic Site: http://www.anhri.net/saudi/spdhr/ English site: http://hrfssaudiarabia.org/
HRFS Official Arabic Website http://www.anhri.net/saudi/spdhr/ Blocked in Saudi Arabia. HRFS statements, positions on different HR issues and events in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere are part of this website. This web page, which is hosted by our colleagues ANHRI in Cairo, has been blocked in Saudi Arabia since 2003.
HRFS Statements and Letters regarding SA and International Human Rights Issues may be found at HRFS Statements.
Saudi Arabia: Domestic Worker Brutalized : Protections for Domestic Workers, Systemic Reform Urgently Needed (HRW) September 2, 2010 (New York) – “The apparent brutality by Saudi employers against a Sri Lankan domestic worker highlights the severe shortcomings in labor laws and practices that foster abuse and exploitation, Human Rights Watch said today. The exclusion of the estimated 1.5 million migrant domestic workers from labor protections and their subjection to a sponsorship system that governs immigration status and employment relations facilitates systemic abuses of these workers, Human Rights Watch said. Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch writes, “The government should address the systemic problems made possible by Saudi laws that put all power in the hands of private employers and allow them to abuse their workers with no fear of consequences.” More… in English …in Arabic
A call to attend the eighth court hearing (announcement of verdict) in the case of Judge Al-Reshoudi Vs. the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh Grievances (Administrative Court) Saturday, August 28 2010, at 1 pm Judge Al-Reshoudi’s legal team would call upon Jurists, lawyers, and human rights activists to attend the court hearing to monitor the trial and to ensure justice. Especially that the presiding judge has accepted opened trial, and has promised a bigger court room to host all of the attendants. More…
**********Alshaikh Kadhim Alamri was released Monday, August 23, 2010 at 2:30 PM********** Human Rights First Society (HRFS) Release Alshaikh Kadhim Alamri August 19, 2010: HRFS has issued a statement demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Alshaikh Kadhim Alamri HRFS considers the detention of Alshaikh Kadhim Alamri arbitrary and discriminatory against religious minorities in Saudi Arabia. Read the entire statement in Arabic
Saudi Legal Reform Put to the Test By James M. Dorsey in the Middle East Studies Online Journal August 24, 2010 A spate of recent religious opinions and court rulings ranging from the bizarre to endorsement of mutilation issued by prominent Saudi sheikhs and judges highlight the difficulties King Abdullah is encountering in clamping down on fatwas and his efforts to reform and codify the kingdom’s largely unwritten Islamic legal regulations that govern the kingdom’s criminal, civil and family courts. More…
Saudi Arabia urged not to deliberately paralyse man as retribution punishment – Amnesty International 20 August 2010 Amnesty International has urged the Saudi Arabian authorities not to deliberately paralyse a man in retribution for similar injuries he allegedly caused during a fight. Reports say a court in Tabuk, in the north-west of the country, had approached a number of hospitals about the possibility of cutting the man’s spinal cord to carry out the punishment of qisas (retribution), as requested by the injured victim. “We urge the Saudi Arabian authorities not to carry out such a punishment, which amounts to nothing less than torture. While those guilty of a crime should be held accountable, intentionally paralysing a man in this way would constitute torture, and be a breach of its international human rights obligations,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, acting director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. More in English in Arabic
Saudi Arabia: Further information: Saudi Arabian King should pardon “sorcerer”: Abdul Hamid al-Fakki Amnesty International Index Number: MDE 23/009/2010 17 August 2010 Abdul Hamid al-Fakki, a Sudanese man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia in 2007 for “sorcery”, should be pardoned by the Saudi Arabian King in the coming month. During Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting which this year lasts from 11 August until around 9 September, Saudi Arabia’s King often pardons prisoners. Amnesty International is calling on him to take this opportunity to commute the death sentence of Abdul Hamid al-Fakki. More…
26 Organizations: Royal sanction to crackdown on political opposition and human rights defenders in Bahrain 19/08/2010 The undersigned organizations (including Human Rights First Society Arabia) wish to express their grave concern for the deteriorating human rights situation in Bahrain. Just a few days ago, the King himself, joined by the prime minister and interior minister, issued a sternly worded threat against political activists and human rights defenders, who have been accused of inciting against the government abroad and harming the country. In his statement, the King advocated bringing the full force of the law to bear against these so-called “provocateurs” who are endangering civic peace. More…
Reporters Without Borders: Human rights defender held since mid-June on charge of “annoying others” 22 July 2010 Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Sheikh Mekhlef bin Dahham al-Shammari, a writer, human rights activist and social reformer who was arrested on 15 June and who has yet to be taken before a judge.
“This is far from being the first arbitrary detention in Saudi Arabia but this case borders on the ridiculous,” Reporters Without Borders said. “If they are holding Al-Shammari just for upsetting or annoying people, then a lot of Saudis are going to end up in prison.”
Ibrahim Al Mugaiteeb, the founder and head of the Human Rights First Society, said that, prior to this arrest, Al-Shammari had given him a special power of attorney to defend him. “Mr. Al-Shammari’s arrest is illegal. The prosecutor-general’s office has no evidence against him. His detention is a flagrant violation of freedom of expression.” More…
Saudi human rights activist in prison for ‘annoying others’ by Caryle Murphy, Foreign Correspondent HRFS President, Ibrahim Almugaiteeb was interviewed for this report. Last Updated: July 20. 2010 12:13AM UAE / July 19. 2010 8:13PM GMT RIYADH // A prominent Saudi human rights activist detained for more than a month is being investigated for allegedly “annoying others” with his online essays that criticise government officials and Saudi religious scholars, according to his legal representative and a family member. He has not yet been formally charged, but “annoying others” is the accusation in his prison file, said Ibrahim al Mugaiteeb, founder of the Dammam-based Human Rights First. “He is a prisoner for a crime that is not even defined,” added Mr al Mugaiteeb. “‘Annoying others.’ To me that’s a very funny and obscure accusation.” Mr al Mugaiteeb said that Mr al Shammary gave him power of attorney for Mr al Shammary’s affairs prior to his arrest. Mr Al Mugaiteeb added that the judge who has Mr al Shammary’s prison file told him yesterday that he had decided to return the case to prosecutors “because it’s a security case”. Mr al Mugaiteeb added that Mr al Shammary’s detention was “illegal” because under Saudi law an arrested person is to be brought before a judge within 24 hours and that “Mekhlef up to now has not seen a judge …. I do not accept or condone what is happening to him”. More…
Bahrain: Charge or Release Opposition Activists HRW Government Opponents Apparently Detained for Criticism of Government August 17, 2010 (Washington, DC) – The Bahraini government should immediately release four opposition activists detained in recent days or bring formal charges against them, Human Rights Watch said today. The men’s whereabouts are unknown, and they have not been allowed to contact their families or lawyer. More… in English …in Arabic
HRW Letter to the Saudi Human Rights Commission on behalf of Aisha Ali End System of Male Guardianship August 12, 2010
Dear Dr. al-‘Iban,
I urgently request your intervention on behalf of Aisha Ali, a 28-year-old Saudi divorced mother of three currently living in Buraida. She alleges that her brothers routinely beat her, forcibly confined her, and forced her into multiple marriages. We ask you to advocate with the relevant court or government body to remove her brothers’ and father’s guardianship over her and to allow her to make her own decisions regarding her well-being and that of her three children in her custody. We furthermore request you to ensure she has a fair hearing concerning custody of her second daughter, Layan, which is currently being challenged by Layan’s father. In 2009, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia promised to end the male guardianship system during the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council. More in English in Arabic
