On
January 13, 2019, Ms. Israa Al-Ghomgham, a human rights defender from
the region of Qatif, an eastern coastal city with a Shia majority, will appear
before the Specialized Criminal Court - a jurisdiction originally set up to
prosecute terrorist acts which is in fact dealing with so-called cases
affecting “national security” and has been criminalising dozens of peaceful
activists, including human rights defenders.
The
Observatory expresses its great concern over the physical and psychological
integrity of Ms. Israa Al-Ghomgham, especially as she does not have access to
her lawyer, who never got the authorization to meet with her before the hearings,
and as she failed to attend the two precedent hearings, on October 28 and
November 21, 2018 respectively. The reasons for her non-attendance remain
unknown. The Prosecutor called for the application of the death penalty. Saudi
Arabia executes death penalty mostly by beheading.
"We should not be misled by the apparent openness
driven by Mohamed Ben Salman. The reality is that dozens of human rights
defenders, including women, are arbitrarily detained and are exposed to
torture. This fact reminds us that Saudi Arabia is still one of the most
repressive country for human rights in the world. Israa Al-Ghomgham must be
immediately released!", said Alexandra Poméon O’Neill, Director of
the Observatory at FIDH.
“Sentencing Israa
Al-Ghomgham to death would send the most horrible signal to other human rights
activists in the country. Increased repression against women’s rights defenders
currently detained in the Kingdom is also to be feared. The international community cannot ignore Saudi Arabia’s attacks on human rights
anymore. Such a horrendous prospect has to be stopped”, said Delphine Reculeau, Director of the Observatory at OMCT.
Ms.
Israa Al-Ghomgham took part in peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations since
2011, during the Arab Spring, documented mass demonstrations in the Eastern
provinces, and called many times for the respect of freedom of assembly and
expression, the release of prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders
and used to express her opinion on social media platforms. She was arbitrarily
arrested on December 8, 2015, after the Saudi authorities launched a raid at
her home, arresting her and her husband. She has been detained in Dammam’s
al-Mabahith prison until now.
The
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) is a
partnership created in 1997 by the FIDH and the World Organisation Against
Torture (OMCT) and aims to intervene to prevent or remedy concrete situations
of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of
ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union mechanism for human rights defenders
implemented by international civil society.
For
more information, please contact:
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