Saudi Arabia: Alkarama Seizes UN Regarding Al Shabili's Prosecution by Specialised Criminal Court
Alkarama sent a second urgent appeal to the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) concerning the upcoming hearing of Mr Abdulaziz Al Shabili, a Saudi Human Rights Defender (HRD) awaiting prosecution by the Specialised Court on Terrorism and facing over 10 years in arbitrary detention for "incitement to demonstrate" and "insulting Saudi authorities by describing them as a police State which violates human rights." This case underscores the worsening restrictions on freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia and the conditions under which human rights associations in the country are operating.
Al Shabili is a human rights activist and member of Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), an NGO founded in 2009 that has never obtained the necessary license to carry out its mission despite its significant work documenting human rights violations in the Kingdom, including through filing local lawsuits against the Interior Ministry and reporting violations to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and Special Procedures. Reprisals from the Saudi authorities started in 2012 and since then several ACPRA founders and members have been imprisoned or are currently being prosecuted.
Prosecuted under overly broad charges of terrorism in reprisal for his legitimate and peaceful criticism of the Saudi regime, Al Shabili is currently undergoing an unfair trial by the Saudi Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) notorious for its lack of independence and complete denial of fair trial guarantees. He is at high risk of being arbitrarily detained for a minimum of 10 years like his colleagues of ACPRA. Previous cases of unfair trials of HRDs in Saudi Arabia include the lawyer Waleed Abu Al Khair, who was sentenced by the same court in July 2014 to 15 years in prison under similar charges. Like Abu al Khair, Al Shabili rightly challenges the legitimacy of the Court to prosecute him since the SCC is only competent to prosecute crimes of terrorism.
Amongst the charges under which he is being prosecuted there are "incitement to demonstrate" and "insulting Saudi authorities by describing them as a police State which violates human rights," but Alkarama fears that new charges might be brought during the next hearing scheduled for 7 June 2015. "Two things should be noted on these charges: first these acts cannot be considered as terrorist ones because there are merely peaceful acts of criticism, and secondly the criticism itself is legitimate since Al Shabili, just like all other ACPRA members, was rightly condemning injustices committed by the authorities against their compatriots while never inciting anyone to violence," said Radidja Nemar, Regional Legal Officer for the Gulf at Alkarama. "This should not be considered as a crime but celebrated as a duty by all those who wish to live in a just society. Those who peacefully criticise the authorities' abuses should not be prosecuted as terrorists but protected as human rights defenders. As a member of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Saudi Arabia has committed to protect human rights defenders and should respect its commitment".
After a first urgent appeal in December 2014, Alkarama sent a second one on 30 April 2015, both to the WGAD and to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders to call the Saudi authorities to respect their international obligations and live up to their role as a member of the Human Rights Council by dropping all charges against Al Shabili and release all HRDs currently detained for peacefully defending the rights of their compatriots.
For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1007 Ext: 810)