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Fahd bin Abdul Aziz
Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz
Naef Bin Abdul Aziz
Salman Bin Abdul Aziz
Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz
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Amnesty International's concerns: Torture and
ill-treatment
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Torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners and
common law criminals in police stations and prisons is routine in Saudi
Arabia. Methods include electric shocks, beatings, falaqa (beating on the
soles of the feet), and ta'liq (suspension by the wrist from the ceiling
or a high window). Such practices are often used to extract
"confessions", especially during pre-trial incommunicado
detention.
One case in which torture was used is that of Muhammad Samir Said Al-Jabari,
a senior civil servant, who was tortured while held incommunicado in a
prison in Taif. He was arrested at his home in late 1995; the arrest was
carried out without a warrant. In April, AI raised concerns about the case
of Dr. Abdul Rahim Turan Gari Bai, a consultant hematologist who had been
detained without charge since his arrest in 1995. He was allegedly
tortured during his detention in prison in Taif.
AI has also received reports of the continued imposition of the judicial
punishments of amputation and flogging. In one instance, two secondary
school students were sentenced to flogging and imprisonment. AI also
received reports of the flogging of 24 Filipinos in September.
One detainee was reported to have died in custody in 1995, after having
been beaten by a policeman following his arrest in Mecca; the man, an
Indonesian, had apparently overstayed his visa to Saudi Arabia.
AI has also been concerned about the practice of torture and ill-treatment
of detainees who were arrested following the bombing of the US military
base in Dhahran. Dozens of people were detained in the wake of the
bombing; many of them remained in incommunicado detention since their
arrest. Amnesty International has called on governments worldwide to guard
against sacrificing human rights at the expense of internal security.
Death penalty
There was a sharp increase in executions in 1995; at least 192 people were
executed during the year. They appeared to come to a halt in September,
but began again in March 1996 when a Saudi Arabian national, Mohammad Ben
Ghazi al-Roqi al-'Utaibi, was beheaded in Riyadh. He had been found guilty
by a Shari'a court of the murder of another member of his tribe.
At least fourteen executions took place between late May and the end of
June. As well as taking place on Fridays after prayers, executions also
occur on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Four of those executed were
businessmen who had been convicted of the bombing of the Saudi Arabian
national Guard training center in Riyadh. AI believes that these men were
denied their right to a fair trial, having been executed 40 days after the
announcement by the Minister of the Interior that they would be tried for
the bombing. They were believed to have been convicted on the basis of
"confessions", which may have been obtained under torture.
Furthermore, as a practice in Saudi Arabia, prisoners facing the death
penalty are denied the right to be defended by lawyers during the trial
hearing.
Detention of prisoners of conscience/possible prisoners of
conscience
Scores of political detainees arrested in 1993 and 1994 remain in custody
without charge or trial. Amnesty International remains concerned about the
arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of hundreds of political
suspects as well as the arrest and sentencing of political prisoners and
prisoners of conscience after unfair trials.
In the wake of the bombing of the US sir base in Dhahran, Saudi
authorities arrested a large number of individuals. Hundreds of people
were believed to have been detained; many of those arrested were suspected
political or religious opponents of the government. Information received
by AI indicated that at least 200 members of the Shi'a community were
detained during this time. Many family members have been unable to obtain
information as to the reasons for these arrests, and have not been allowed
to visit their relatives. Amnesty International believes that some of
these detainees may be prisoners of conscience.
The majority of detainees arrested during 1995 were suspected Sunni
Islamist opponents of the government. They included Dr Nasser al-'Umr, a
professor of religious studies at the University of Riyadh, and Sheikh
'Abdul-Rahman bin Muhammad al-Dakhil.
Unfair trials
The failure to meet international standards for fair trials pervades all
legal proceedings involving political or criminal prisoners. Prisoners are
not allowed access to lawyers during pre-trial interrogations, and defense
lawyers are not formally present during trials. Defendants may be
convicted on the sole basis of "confessions" often obtained
under torture or ill-treatment.
One case is that of four businessmen who had been convicted of the bombing
of the Saudi Arabian National Guard training center in Riyadh (see above).
According to information received by Amnesty International, no more than
40 days passed between the announcement that they would be tried for the
bombing and their execution.
Other
Religious intolerance: Public and private non-Muslim worship is, in
practice, banned in Saudi Arabia. In the aftermath of the Gulf War,
religious intolerance has become particularly acute, with hundreds of
Christian men, women and children having been the targets of arrest,
detention, torture, flogging or other cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment at the hands of security and religious authorities, solely for
the peaceful expression of their
religious beliefs.
The public expression of Shi'a Muslim beliefs of the performance of their
religious rites has also been monitored and generally prohibited.
Refugees: A large number of Iraqi refugees who had fled from Iraq during
and after the Gulf War (or who were prisoners of war) remain in the desert
camp of Rafha in northern Saudi Arabia. Amnesty International continues to
be concerned about a pattern of human rights violations in the camp
mirroring those practiced against suspected political opponents in Saudi
Arabia: arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment and lack of fair
legal proceedings. Numerous reports of deaths in custody as a result of
torture have still not been addressed by the government. The fate of at
least 30 who were arrested in March 1993 remains unknown. |
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