Sheik al-Fassi was an extravagant Saudi with close ties to Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. He flaunted his wealth by buying a mansion in Beverly Hills in the early eighties and painting the statues in a vulgar way. His thirst for attention eventually led to his demise when he refused to consider the family's careful planning not to flaunt their wealth in public. al-Saud portrayed him in the media as "deranged" and "imbalanced" just to hide other facts about how he got his money. Today, he is still in jail with no one to seek his release.

The Case of Sheik Muhammad al-Fassi

Muhammad al-Fassi has become the first victim of the Kingdom's post-war policy of harsh and unlawful measures to suppress political dissent.

Since October 2 1991, Sheik Muhammad al-Fassi, a Saudi Arabian businessman, brother-in-law of Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz who is fourth in line to the Saudi throne, and an outspoken critic of the government's Gulf war and human rights policies, has been detained at a secret location in Riyadh and reportedly has been tortured and is at risk of execution.

1. Illegal and secret extradition of Sheik al-Fassi

Sheik Muhammad al-Fassi arrived in Jordan with his wife and seven children on September 21 1991. He was arrested on October 2 1991 by Jordanian security forces at the Intercontinental Hotel in Amman and was subsequently handed over to the Saudi Arabian authorities, who had requested his extradition. Reportedly, his arrest was ordered by the Saudi Minister of the Interior, Prince Nayef ibn Abdul Aziz, a younger brother of King Fahd. The extradition took place, in total secrecy, at al-Hadithah crossing on the Saudi-Jordanian border. In press interviews, officials of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jordan denied knowledge of his enforced return.

Jordanian authorities did not reveal the reason for their compliance with the Saudi extradition request for Sheik al-Fassi. Nor did they seek assurances that he would not be subjected to torture, incommunicado detention, other mistreatment or unfair trial or pre-trial procedures. The Jordanian Government violated international law by not requesting such assurances and by not respecting Sheik al-Fassi's right to challenge, in Jordan, the decision to extradite him. The Jordanian Government, which found itself in a very difficult economic and political position at the end of the Gulf war, reportedly was pressurized by Saudi officials to hand over Sheik al-Fassi. Many Middle-East observers believe that Sheik al-Fassi's summary extradition was one of the many acts demanded by the Saudi Government as pre-conditions for reopening borders between the two countries, restoring diplomatic relations and resuming economic aid to Jordan.

The Saudi Arabian government sought Sheik Muhammad al-Fassi's extradition because of his political activities. During the Gulf war Sheik al-Fassi had criticized the Saudi Arabian government. He had actively campaigned during the Gulf crisis and the war against the presence of allied armed forces in Saudi Arabia. for a peaceful solution to the crises, and for political and democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia. Sheik al-Fassi participated in public meetings in Baghdad and elsewhere and his views were broadcast on the radio station, Voice of the People of Najd and Hijaz, which was transmitted from Baghdad. In the aftermath of the Gulf war, he established a fund to send humanitarian aid to children in Iraq.

2. Incommunicado detention, torture and ill treatment

Since his illegal extradition, Sheik al-Fassi has been held in secret detention in a prison somewhere in Riyadh. No one has been allowed to visit him despite appeals from his family, his lawyer and international human rights' organizations. His incommunicado detention may have facilitated conditions for the use of torture against him and he remains at risk of continuing torture so long as he is held incommunicado.

Reliable sources informed Article 19 that Sheik al-Fassi has been shackled throughout his detention and blindfolded for long periods of time; that he has been subjected to beatings all over his body, and to falaqa (beatings on the soles of the feet); and, as a result of such beatings, that his right hand has been fractured.

During the first week of his detention in Riyadh, sympathetic officers allowed him to telephone his wife. He told her that he was tortured with burning cigarettes on parts of his body and that he had suffered a heart attack as a result of torture. He has reportedly been forced to sign confessions extracted under torture and to read out these confessions while being filmed by a video camera.

3. Saudi government's violation of international human rights law

Sheik al-Fassi's arrest and incommunicado detention without charge is a flagrant violation of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that:

'Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.'

It is also a denial of his rights under Article 3, which states that:

'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person'; Article 5, which states that: 'No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment'; Article 8, which states that:

'Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating . . . fundamental rights'; and Article 9, which states that: 'No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile'.

As of the date of this Censorship News, Sheik al-Fassi has been held in incommunicado detention for more than three months, and the Saudi authorities have yet to acknowledge that he is held in detention or grant his family and lawyers access to him. This continuing failure violates his family's right to information, guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration.