SAU 001 / 0319 / OBS 024.2
Arbitrary detention /
Judicial harassment
Saudi Arabia
April 5, 2019
The Observatory for the Protection
of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent
intervention in the following situation in Saudi Arabia.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable
sources about the ongoing judicial harassment of Mses. Aziza al-Youssef
and Eman al-Nafjan, and the continuing arbitrary detention and judicial
harassment of Mses. Loujain al-Hathloul, Amal al-Harbi, Hatoon
al-Fassi, Shadan al-Onezi, Mayaa al-Zahrani, Nouf
Abdelaziz, Abeer Namankani along with another woman rights defender.
The 10 women’s rights defenders have been detained for their peaceful defence
of women’s rights following a crackdown that started in May 2018.
According to the information received, on
April 3, 2019, Riyadh Criminal Court held the third court session of the trial
against the ten above-mentioned women human rights defenders on charges related
to human rights work and contacts with foreign journalists, diplomats and human
rights groups. The exact charges are still to be made public. No journalists,
diplomats or other international observers were again allowed access to the
court room. During the hearing, the Public Prosecutor reportedly replied to the
women’s defences and denied torture allegations made by some of them on March
27. Contrary to previous announcements, the Court did not release any other
defender (see background information), but promised to order conditional
release of some of them “within two days”. Some verdicts are expected to be
issued on April 17, 2019.
According to the information received, the
families of some women human rights defenders, including Ms. Loujain
al-Hatloul’s family members, have been pressured to remain silent about the
proceedings.
The Observatory recalls that 2018 saw an unprecedented crackdown against
women’s rights defenders. Dozens were detained on vague security charges for
defending women’s rights. Several were reportedly tortured while in detention.
The acts of torture included electric shocks, whipping the women on their thighs,
rape threats and sexual harassment. Some of the detained women’s rights
defenders have not yet been brought to trial, such as Mses. Samar Badawi and Nassima Al-Sadah[1].
The Observatory strongly condemns the ongoing arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of women’s rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, which seems to be only aimed at punishing them for their legitimate human rights activities. The Observatory calls on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all of them and to guarantee in all circumstances their physical integrity and psychological well-being.
Background information[2]:
In September 2017, immediately after the
announcement of a Royal Decree authorising women to obtain driving licences,
the services of the Ministry of Interior contacted women’s rights defenders to
ask them not to comment on the new decree in the media. Mid 2018 repression
took an unprecedented turning point with the arrest of dozens of women’s rights
defenders.
On May 15, 2018, Ms. Loujain Al-Hathloul, who
had been involved in campaigns on the right of women to drive, was abducted in
the United Arab Emirates, brought to Saudi Arabia against her will, and
detained.
On the same day, Ms. Aziza al-Youssef, a key
figure of women’s fight for their political rights and a supporter of the
campaign to abolish male guardianship, and Dr. Eman al-Nafjan, founder
and author of the Saudiwoman’s Weblog, who had also been
involved in the driving campaign, were arrested and detained.
On June 6, 2018, Ms. Nouf Abdelaziz, a
journalist, TV producer and women’s rights defender, was arrested at her home.
On June 27, 2018, Ms. Hatoon
al-Fassi, a prominent scholar and associate professor of women’s history at
King Saud University, was arrested. She was advocating for the right of women
to participate in municipal elections and to drive, and was one of the first
women to drive the day the ban was lifted on June 24, 2018. She was set to be interviewed by French media France
2 to talk about the lift of the driving ban shortly after.
Ms. Amal Al-Harbi, a woman human rights defender and the wife of
prominent activist Mr. Fowzan Al-Harbi, co-founder of the Saudi
Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), was arrested by State Security
on July 30, 2018 while on the seaside with her children in Jeddah.
Ms. Shadan al-Onezi, Ms. Mayaa al-Zahrani, and Ms.
Abeer Namankani were also detained later in May 2018.
On March 13, 2019, Riyadh Criminal Court
summoned Mses. Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-Youssef, Eman al-Nafjan, Amal
al-Harbi, Hatoon al-Fassi, Shadan al-Onezi, Mayaa al-Zahrani, Nouf Abdelaziz,
Abeer Namankani along with a 10th woman human rights defenders.
Eight hours before the session, the State Security informed that the first
hearing of the 10 women, initially scheduled before Riyadh Specialised Criminal
Court (SCC)[3]
would take place at Riyadh Criminal Court. One of the 10, Ms. Nouf Abdelaziz,
failed to appear before the court, for unknown reasons, and was reported to
suffer the consequences of severe torture. The Prosecution accused the
defenders of contravening with Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law, based on
alleged confessions that the women would have been in contact with human rights
organisations. The Prosecution reportedly requested the Court to convict the
defendants for “communicating with people and entities hostile to the
King", "cooperating with journalists and media institutions hostile
to the King", "providing financial support to foreign
adversaries", and "recruiting persons for information detrimental to
the security of the Kingdom". The Prosecution requested the court to apply
the upper limit of sentences provided under Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime
Law as well as other punishments, that were not specified yet. Offences under
the Anti-Cyber Crime Law carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail.
On March 27, 2019, Riyadh Criminal Court held
the second trial session. The hearing was not public as journalists and
diplomats were not allowed to attend. The court allowed them to seat next to
their relatives and to answer to the charges directly, in presence of a court-appointed lawyer.
Several of the women mentioned they had been subjected to physical torture and
sexual abuses by masked interrogators during custody. The court also ordered
the defendants to respond to the charges brought against them within two weeks.
Moreover, the women petitioned the court for provisional release.
On March 28, 2019, the court ordered the
provisional release of Mses. Aziza al-Youssef and Eman al-Nafjan. Then the
court announced that other women human rights defenders would be released on
March 31, 2019.
On March 31, 2019, the court met again but
did not order any provisional release and added it may order the provisional
release of two or three of the women on April 1, 2019, which it did not.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Saudi
Arabia, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the
physical integrity and psychological well-being of the ten above-mentioned women human rights defenders, as well as of all detained human rights
defenders in Saudi Arabia;
ii. Ensure the ten above-mentioned women human rights defenders have
unhindered access to their families and lawyers and respect in all
circumstances their right to a fair trial;
iii.
Immediately and unconditionally release Mses. Loujain al-Hathloul,
Amal al-Harbi, Hatoon al-Fassi, Shadan al-Onezi, Mayaa al-Zahrani, Nouf
Abdelaziz, Abeer Namankani and the other prosecuted woman human rights
defender, and end all forms of harassment, including at the
judicial level, against them and all detained human rights defenders in Saudi
Arabia, as their detention is arbitrary since it only aims at punishing them
for their legitimate human rights activities;
iv.
Comply in all circumstances with all the provisions of
the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular its
Articles 1, 6(c) and 12.2;
v.
More generally, ensure in all circumstances the
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with
international human rights standards and instruments ratified by Saudi Arabia.
Addresses:
• His
Majesty, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian
of the two Holy Mosques, Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior) +966 11 403 3125;
Email: info@moi.gov.sa; Twitter: @KingSalman
• His
Excellency, Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Fax:
(via Ministry of the Interior) +966 11 403 3125; Email: info@moi.gov.sa
• H.E.
Waleed bin Mohammad Al Samaani, Minister of Justice, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Fax: + 966 11 405 7777; Email: info@moj.gov.sa
• His
Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif Bin Abdulaziz, Minister of
Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax: + 966 11 401 1111 / + 966 11 401 1944 /
+ 966 11 403 1125; Email: info@moi.gov.sa
• H.E.
Adel bin Ahmed El Jubeir, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fax: + 966 11 403 0645 ;
Email: info@mofa.gov.sa
• H.E. Abdulaziz Alwasil, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 758 00
00. Email: saudiamission@bluewin.ch
• H.E. Abdulrahman bin Soliman Al-Ahmed, Ambassador, Embassy of Saudi Arabia in
Brussels, Belgium. Fax: +32 2 6468538. Email: beemb@mofa.gov.sa
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Saudi Arabia in
your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic missions or embassies
in Saudi Arabia.
***
Paris-Geneva, April 5, 2019
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken
quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to intervene
to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders.
FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders
Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
[1] See Observatory Urgent Appeal SAU 005 / 0818 / OBS 103, published on
August 14, 2018.
[2] See Observatory Urgent
Appeals SAU 003 / 0518 / OBS 073 and SAU 004 /
0718 / OBS 093, published on May 24, 2018 and on July 6, 2018.
[3] The SCC was originally set up in 2009 to prosecute those with direct
links to terrorist acts. It is part of the Ministry of the Interior rather than
the Ministry of Justice, placing it firmly within the national security sphere.
This jurisdiction has been dealing with cases affecting “national security”. It
is used by the Saudi government to crush peaceful dissent from human rights
defenders and pro-democracy activists.
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