Saudi activists call for release of reformists

More than 60 Saudi activists have signed a petition calling for the release of a group of reformists held in the kingdom since early February accused of funding terrorism.

The petition was signed by 67 activists and sent to the justice ministry and advisory Shura council in Riyadh, as well as to two government-sanctioned human rights watchdogs.

The petition said the reformists had been held for longer than six months without a trial and that under Saudi law they should therefore be released.

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy that has taken tentative steps towards reform, including holding male-only elections in 2005 to pick half of the members of municipal councils.

The petition stated the seven reformists had been arrested in an “undignified way” and had been “denied and access to lawyers to be informed of the specific accusations of their detention.”

It listed those being held as Issam Basrawi, Saud Al-Hashimi, Suleiman al-Rashudi, Sharif Khalib, Musa Al-Qarni, Abdul Rahman al-Shamiri and Abdul Aziz Al-Khariji.

It also said that the reformists should be compensated upon their release.

Writer Mohammed bin Hudeijan Al-Harbi said in April that three of the reformists being held had themselves signed a petition to King Abdullah calling for the establishment of an Islam-based constitutional monarchy.

The petition demanded the introduction of a parliament “elected by all adults, men and women” in oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

*

Petition: “In Order to Stop all Violations of Detainees’ Rights by Security Forces”

In the Name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful

His Excellency Mr. Torki Al-Sedairi, Chairman of Human Rights Commission

Al salam alaikum wa Rahmatul’lahi wa Brakatuh

We the undersigned, Saudi citizens concerned with human rights and public affairs, hope that you, as the chairman of the Human Rights Commission, the institution that is directly involved in following-up on human rights in our country, will exert all efforts to pursue all coming details and violations of rights of the following detainees. We will pursue this topic with you until it reaches a solution through legal and rightful means.
As your Excellency might know, security forces in Saudi Arabia detained a number of academics, lawyers and social figures on the evening of Friday / early morning of Saturday 2 / 2 / 2007. It has been announced later on that they have been detained in Madina, Jeddah, and Riyadh. The Ministry of interior has not announced their names but has announced a statement issued by its official spokesperson accusing them of financing terrorism.

It has been confirmed later on that the list of detainees includes the following names:

1. Lawyer Issam Basrawi, a social activist, he’s also known to be a man of special needs, taken care of by an assistant from Morocco who has been arrested with him.
2. Lawyer Sulaiman Al-Rushoudi, a social activist who was a known judge and later worked in the field of law
3. Dr. Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashimi, a Medical Doctor and a social activist
4. Al-Shareef Saif Al-Ghalib, a social activist
5. Dr. Musa Al-Garni, a university professor and a social activist
6. Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Shemairi, a university professor and a social activist
7. Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Kheraiji, a well-known social figure

We ascertain that those whom we know from the detainees in this case have been known for their call to respect human rights in a peaceful and civilized manner which contradicts neither with the fundamentals of religion nor with the fundamentals of national unity.

In accordance with our profound faith in the principles and values of human rights, on top of which stands the right of a human being to peaceful and free expression of opinion which has also been emphasized by all international accords and treaties, in addition to all local legislations, we would like to clarify the following points:

1. Those people have been detained in a manner that transcends respect for “human dignity” and lacks the employment of a basic maxim of rights which stipulates that “the suspect is innocent until proven guilty”. The detainees and their families have incurred a lot of harm and dignity humiliation in addition to violation of privacy during the process of detainment.

2. The detainees have been denied the right to meet with their lawyers to inform them about their detention and about the details of the accusations they are charged with, all of which is in violation of “Penal Procedures Code” and “Human Rights Covenants” which have been signed by the Government of Saudi Arabia.

3. The detainees were put under investigations by security forces whereas the legal procedure requires, according to the articles of the “Penal Procedures Code” transferring them to the “Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution” for it is the official body specialized in investigation in accordance with its bylaws issued by a royal decree.

4. The detainees were denied the right to seek assistance of a lawyer who will attend the investigations. One of the most important rights of suspects is the right to obtain a lawyer’s assistance which is a basic right emphasized by the “Penal Procedures Code” and by all international human rights covenants. It is also considered as a basic criterion of a just trial.

5. The officials of the Ministry of Interior have accused all detainees of financing terrorism without presenting any documents or alibis that substantiate this accusation, just as it has been done in other cases.

6. It has been a long time since the detention of those people, more than enough to either prove their innocence or transfer them to a just and open court for trial. As the detainees have not been allowed to see their family members or their lawyers, their situation inside the prison warrants our worries and brings into question the observance of legal criteria in dealing with them while in detention and securing all basic guarantees of their rights based on the law of “presumed innocence”.
On the same issue, many other people have been arrested later on backgrounds that have not been announced by security forces. Those people have undergone similar violations as the ones mentioned above.

We see that these practices by some security forces violate human rights and undermine the reform efforts guided by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on the way to firmly establish human rights, citizenship rights, the rights for peaceful expression of opinion, and other rights required for comprehensive reform. They also tarnish the image of our country in front of the world for they show it as a country which does not abide by the international treaties and covenants it has been committed to especially with regard to human rights.

Due to the secrecy in which this case has been kept, we call upon all concerned authorities to respect human dignity and implement legal rules stipulated in the “Penal Procedures Code” and to uphold all human rights covenants that have been signed by the Government of Saudi Arabia.
As of today 17/8/2007 , the above mentioned detainees had spent more than six moths and a half in prison, therefore we also call upon all concerned authorities to release the concerned detainees immediately according to article (114) of the “Penal Procedures Code”, which states that:” In cases that require detention for a longer period, the matter shall be referred to the Director of the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution to issue an order that the arrest be extended for a period or successive periods none of which shall exceed thirty days and their aggregate shall not exceed six months from the date of arrest of the accused. Thereafter, the accused shall be directly transferred to the competent court, or be released”.
We also call upon all concerned authorities to preserve the rights of the detainee for a legal compensation for the moral and material damages they have incurred by detention.

May Allah protect our country from all harms and guide our leaders into the path of inclusive reform and progressive development.
Wa Alsalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatulahi wa Barakatuhu.

CC
His Excellency Chairman of the Shura (Consultative) Council
His Excellency the Minister of Justice
His Excellency Chairman of the National Association of Human Rights

Names signed the original letter in Arabic:
( The names who signed this letter represent variety of the intellectual social components of Saudi Arabia, which includes academies , businessmen ,writers, reformers, social and human rights activists, among them are women activists Labeled here with ( f ) letter in front of their names ” ) ”

1- Dr Abdulazeez Mohammmed Aldukhaeil
2- Ibraheem Abdullah Al-mubarak
3- Akl Ibraheem Albahely
4- Abdulazeez Mohammed Alwhaiby
5- Sulaiman Abdullah Alsayiary
6- Ali Mohammed Alghadhamy
7- Hammad Ibraheem Albahely
8- Dr. Matrook Alfaleh
9- Abdullah Mohammed Alfuraihy
10- Saleh Ibraheem Alswayan
11- Ali Mohammed Alonaizan
12- Abdulrahman Aldukair
13- Abdulrahman Mohammed Alonaizan
14- Abdulrahman Mohammed Alkhaleefah
15- Khaled Mohammed Alonaizan
16- Abdulazeez Ibraheem Alswaylem
17- Khaled Alomayer
18- Ali Aldumaini
19- Najeeb Alkhonaizy
20- Dr. Yusuf Makky
21- Abdulgader Yousuf
22- Wajeha Alhwaider ( f )
23- Flooziah Alouni ( f )
24- Hamad Alhamdan
25- Mohammed Alzamel
26- Zakee Abu-Alsaood
27- Abdullah Alfaran
28- Jawad Abu-Holaiqah
29- Abdullah Hassan Abdulbaqi
30- Hashem Murtadha Alhasan
31- Abdullah Alharkan
32- Abdulrahman Almulla
33- Muneerah Almoosly ( f )
34- Abdulwahaab Alorayiedh
35- Jaafar Alnasar
36- Saeed Aljaroof
37- Mohammed Almohsen
38- Jaafar Jaseb Altuhaifah
39- Saeed Saleh Slshaikh
40- Zakarya Saeed Al-Shobbar
41- Asaad Ali Alnemer
42- Zakarya Almozayen
43- Saleh Ali Alsaleh
44- Alsayeed Hamzah Alshakhory
45- Sooad Ali Almukhtar ( f )
46- Zakey Ali Alsaleh
47- Hesham Salman Alsadah
48- Saood Mohammed Faran
49- Nadheer Abdullah al-Hany
50- Ahmmad Ali Al-kazem
51- Mohammed Al-Ali
52- Ismaeel Ibraheem Sajeeny
53- Khaled Mohammed Alhusainy
54- Abdullah Farrajj Alshareef
55- Dr. Mohammed Mahmood Baterjy
56- Yqoob Ishaq
57- Hsan Abdulrahman Abo rashed
58- Omar Abdulqader Jastnyah
59- Dr. Mahmood Husain Zayny
60- Mohammed Mahjoob
61- Kamal Abdulqader
62- Abdullah ali Sabeq
63- Dr.Saood Araby Sajeeny
64- Ahmmad Ayel Faqehy
65- Mohammed Alfaaydi
66- Mustafa Husain Attar
67- Jaafar Alshayeeb
68- Mohammed Abdulrazzaq Alqashaamy
69- Mohammed Hassan Bujobarah
70- Husain Abdullah Albadher
71- Saeed Khedher Alghaithy
72- Abdullateef Habeeb Al-Abdulateef
73- Saad Ayedh Alamry
74- Mohammed Saeed Tayeeb
75- Abdulmohsen Helleet Moslem
76- Dr. Abdulmohsen Helal