HRFS Statements
HRFS STATEMENT ISSUED JULY 9,2010: HRFS welcomes the set up of the GCC human rights panel. Arab News, a daily English newspaper in Saudi Arabia published on July 9th: GCC to set up human rights panel (http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article85036.ece) Human Rights First Society (HRFS) an unlicensed NGO in Saudi Arabia welcomes the announcement to set up the first human rights panel/commission in the Gulf Cooperation Countries(GCC). View Complete Statement
HRFS welcomes the set up of the GCC human rights panel
STATEMENT ISSUED JULY 9,2010
Arab News,a daily English newspaper in Saudi Arabia published on July 9th:
GCC to set up human rights panel
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article85036.ece
Human Rights First Society (HRFS) an unlicensed NGO in Saudi Arabia welcomes the announcement to set up the first human rights panel/commission in the Gulf Cooperation Countries(GCC).
Human Rights First Society,Saudi Arabia emphasizes the following:
1-We welcome the announcement’s emphasis that the panel/commission will have independent and impartial experts as members and employees but we reserve accepting this statement until the announcement of the list of members.
2-We call on the GCC governments to choose the members of the panel from NGOs (Non Government Organizations) and HRDs (Human Rights Defenders) that have proven in the past that they were free from governments’ spheres in the member states.
3-The panel should be formed on the basis of:
-Gender equality.
-Inclusion of all religious minorities in the region.
-Where applicable in the member states citizens from religions other than Islam should be represented.
-The panel/commission members should represent all ideologies and political factions in the member states.
4-Member states’ governments should insure the full independence of this panel/commission and should not allow any of the ministries of interior in the member states to interfere with its mission.
5-The mandate of this panel/commission should be powerful and unconditionally in favor of full respect and protection of human rights based on The International Declaration of Human Rights and ALL human rights conventions.
6-All members and employees of this panel/commission should enjoy full immunity from prosecution, intimidation, interrogation and harassment resulting from their work with the panel-commission.
7-The panel-commission mandate should unconditionally allow it to work,collaborate and coordinate with:
-UN,EU HR mechanisms.
-International,regional and national HR and legal organizations.
-Parliamentarian HR committees and subcommittees in any country in the world.
Human Rights First Society,Saudi Arabia
July 9th, 2010
HRFS Response The following letter was respectfully written in response to this tragic loss by HRFS President Ibrahim Almugaiteeb. It was sent to Mr. Eduardo Nino at the Mexican Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on April 28, 2010:
Dear Mr. Nino
I was both shocked and saddened by the news of the violent death of my HRD colleague Bety Cariño of CACTUS from Oaxaca, Mexico as a result of a violent attack yesterday as she and a number of human rights defenders made their way to an indigenous zone controlled by paramilitaries. It is wonderful individuals like my friend Bety who through their relentless struggle try to make this ugly world a better place for human beings and here is the devastating news that she paid the ultimate price for doing that. Human Rights First Society protests this heinous crime against Ms. Bety Cariño and calls on the government of Mexico to bring the perpetrators to speedy justice.
Saudi Shiites arrested over worship: rights’ activist AFP News Release April 6, 2010 RIYADH (AFP) – Authorities in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia have arrested several Shiite community leaders in the Eastern Province for hosting Shiite worship services in their homes, an activist said Tuesday. A 30-year old school teacher was detained on Monday in Al-Khobar, where three other Shiites were arrested a week earlier for private services on the Shiite Ashura holiday last December, said Ibrahim Mugaiteeb of the Human Rights First Society. The arrests follow more than a year of tensions in the Eastern Province over permits for new Shiite mosques in the region. Authorities have shut down several makeshift Shiite mosques and refused a mosque permit for the 20,000-strong Al-Khobar Shiite community, according to Mugaiteeb. ”They cannot have their own mosques, and they can’t pray in a Sunni mosque,” he told AFP. “They are not allowed to have prayers in the streets.” More…
FROM THE BBC: Spotlight on Human Rights in Saudi Arabia. Updated April 19, 2010. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has begun a visit to Saudi Arabia. As part of the BBC’s coverage of her visit Ibrahim Almugaiteeb, the president of Human Rights First Society, has been interviewed by Bob Trevelyan of the BBC. Mr. Almugaiteeb talks with Mr. Trevelyan about everyday human rights violations and injustices in his country . “Spotlight on Human Rights in Saudi Arabia” can be heard on the BBC website. Go to Interview.
Saudi Shiites arrested over worship: rights’ activist AFP News Release April 6, 2010 RIYADH (AFP) – Authorities in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia have arrested several Shiite community leaders in the Eastern Province for hosting Shiite worship services in their homes, an activist said Tuesday. A 30-year old school teacher was detained on Monday in Al-Khobar, where three other Shiites were arrested a week earlier for private services on the Shiite Ashura holiday last December, said Ibrahim Mugaiteeb of the Human Rights First Society. The arrests follow more than a year of tensions in the Eastern Province over permits for new Shiite mosques in the region. Authorities have shut down several makeshift Shiite mosques and refused a mosque permit for the 20,000-strong Al-Khobar Shiite community, according to Mugaiteeb. ”They cannot have their own mosques, and they can’t pray in a Sunni mosque,” he told AFP. “They are not allowed to have prayers in the streets.” More…
TV Mystic Lingers in Saudi Jail by Michael Slackman, Mona El-Naggar contributed reporting. NEW YORK TIMES April 24 and 25 2010 For more than two years, Ali Hussain Sibat of Lebanon has been held in a prison in Saudi Arabia, convicted of sorcery and sentenced to death. His head is to be chopped off by an executioner wielding a long, curved sword. His case highlights not only the popular belief in magic and sorcery — by no means unique to Saudi Arabia — but also a legal system that critics say operates in secret and functions with little oversight, due process or even written laws. Saudi Arabia’s Constitution is the Koran. According to Amnesty International, Mr. Sibat does not even have a lawyer in Saudi Arabia. (Ms. Khansa is in Lebanon.) “The judges think they are the interpreters of God’s word, and this is the whole problem in Saudi Arabia,” said Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, director of Human Rights First Society, an independent monitoring group in the kingdom. “We have enormous numbers of examples where the same case was judged radically differently between two judges.” (A version of this article appeared in print on April 25, 2010, on page A8 of the New York edition.) More…
“Saudi Government Must Stop Provoking Shiites ” Release in Arabic
“Must stop the crackdown on Shiites in Al-Ahsa” (Statement in Arabic) November 15, 2009
“No To Closing Ismaili Mosques Outside Najran” (Statement in Arabic) November 15, 2009
“Arbitrary Arrest of Mr. Muneer Aljasas” (Statement in Arabic) November 13, 2009
Arbitrary Arrest of Mr. Munir Jassaas. Human Rights First Society-Saudi Arabia has issued a statement about this unjust and arbitrary arrest. November 8, 2009 (Statement in Arabic)
Condemnation of Recent Floggings in the Kingdom
Human Rights First Society (HRFS) condemns the handling of the youth involved in the rioting and looting in Al Khobar and Dammam on National Day, September 23, 2009.
HRFS strongly declares that physical punishments, such as flogging, are not acceptable and should be stopped in Saudi Arabia. Also, due process and the right of a fair trial were disregarded in this case. These youth were denied access to the courts prior to their floggings and they did not have the representation of legal counsel. HRFS urges the Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia to examine this case and take the necessary steps that will insure fair and open hearings in court in cases such as this.
Letter: August 25, 2009
Case BGD 190809.CC.VAW
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN / CHILD CONCERN
Gang rape of a girl belonging to a minority/ Risk of impunity
Mrs. Sheikh Hasina,
Prime Minister,
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Your Excellency;
I write to you expressing my deepest concern about the case of gang rape of Ms. Parul Das, a 16 year old Dalit girl,in the Jessore Sistrict,in south western Bangladesh.
I am hoping for the kind attention of Your Excellency to make sure that appropriate authorities in Bangladesh will:
i. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Parul Das and her family.
ii. Order an immediate, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into these events in order to bring those responsible for the ill-treatment to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Guarantee that adequate rehabilitation and compensation is awarded to the victim;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Respectfully Yours;
Ibrahim Almugaiteeb
President
Human Rights First Society(HRFS),Saudi Arabia
www.hrfssaudiarabia.org
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Human Rights First Society
www.hrfssaudiarabia.org
www.anhri.net/saudi/spdhr/
RELEASE: Hunger Strike in Al-Ha’ir Prison for Lack of Water
Human Rights First Society Statement
July 1, 2009
According to an SMS message sent to HRFS a hunger strike started today July 1, 2009 in Wards 12 and 13 of the Al-Ha’ir Prison which houses 196 prisoners. In a phone call with HRFS a spokesperson for the prisoners who are on-strike said that the prisoners have started the hunger strike to protest the frequent interruption of their water supply. As of today, July 1, 2009 they have been without water for the past three days. This means they are deprived of sanitation, drinking water and water for ablution for their prayers.
HRFS supports unconditionally the prisoners who are on strike and demands the Saudi government to resolve the water supply interruptions at the Al-Ha’ir Prison. We also request that the Saudi government closely monitor the health condition for those prisoners on strike.
HRFS requests the Human Rights Commission and The National Society for Human Rights to begin an urgent intervention by sending fact finding groups to investigate the conditions of all the Saudi prisons and to monitor the degree of compliance of the Ministry of the Interior with all Saudi laws and regulations that provide some rights for prisoners in Saudi prisons.
RELEASE: Releasing the Bulk of Prisoners From Awamia, but What about Kamel?
Human Rights First Society Statement
July 1, 2009
The plan to release the bulk of Shiite prisoners in Awamia and the Qatif area has realized 18 releases at the time of this statement. Although HRFS welcomes this way over due step we loudly condemn the continued incarceration of the following:
1. Mr. Kamel Abbas Alahmad from Safwa, a Shiite rights activist has spent 25% of his life in prison. We have a deep fear that this time his arrest is in retribution for his being a very hard-core activist and also being a brother of Mr. Ali Alahmad who is a Saudi descendant living in the United States of America.
2. Mr. Hussein Hassan Alrabie from Awamia
3. Hassan Alzaher from Awamiah
4. Mr. Yassir Ali alfaraj who was arrested Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at the same time they were releasing other Shiite prisoners.
Human Rights First Society in Saudi Arabia demands that the Saudi government unconditionally release these men, without any punitive action such as depriving them of their right to travel. This pertains to all Shiite prisoners whether they live in the Eastern province or Al-Medina Al-Monawarah.
RELEASE: Human Rights First Society Responds To Universal Periodic Review June 15, 2009 Saudi Arabia
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Saudi Arabia was adopted on June 10, 2009 by the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations (UN).
Human Rights First Society (HRFS) commends the HRC of the United Nations for carrying out this important review. Many reports and meetings have led to numerous recommendations concerning women’s rights, religious minorities, migrant workers judicial reform and underage executions.
HRFS calls upon the government of Saudi Arabia to match its rhetoric for human rights’ changes with open and transparent discussion! This discussion must include government officials, international human rights groups and NGOs operating on behalf of the Saudi people within the Kingdom, including those that have not been issued licenses (HRFS has sought such a license since 2002).
HRFS recognizes the importance of the commitments made by the Saudi government. To realize these commitments and to make true progress with regard to the numerous recommendations given there are important steps to be taken. HRFS proposes the following:
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
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Remove the obstacles to freedoms of expression and movement against human rights defenders and lift all travel bans.
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Protect the right to freedom of association to allow NGOs to operate legally in Saudi Arabia, including by extending a license to the Human Rights First Society which first applied for such authorization in November 2002
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
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End the strict system of male guardianship and give full legal identity to Saudi women.
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Incorporate into the domestic legislation the principle of equality between men and women.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
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Urgently realize the long awaited reform of the Justice system in SA to bring it to internationally accepted standards
JUVENILE EXECUTIONS
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Cease immediately any and all underage executions.
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Enact a moratorium on the death penalty for people who committed crimes under the age of 18
MIGRANT WORKERS
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Reform or abolish the system (kafala) of sponsorship where workers’ employment visas are linked to individual employers.
MINORITIES and FREEDOM OF RELIGION
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End all discrimination against the Shi’ite population and stop all arrests and detentions of Shi’ites on the sole base of their faith.
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Stop interfering in religious sermons and allow Shi’ite to build their Mosques and Hussainias freely.
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Immediately free Prisoner of conscience Abdullah Salih Almuhanna.
RELEASE: Saudi business woman and woman activist joins Human Rights First Society (HRFS) May 30, 2009 Kholood Salih Alfahad, a Saudi business woman and woman activist who is coordinating and working on a new petition for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia which will be submitted in person to His Majesty the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al saud, has joined Human Rights First Society as an active declared member.
