Saudi Arabia: Arbitrary detention and no due process of law for over four years for Mr Nasser Al Hadiqi

Mr Nasser Ali Abdullah Al Hadiqi  is a citizen of Yemen and usually resides with his family in Aden (Yemen). He is 40 years old and worked  in a restaurant in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. He was arrested at his workplace on 8 April 2004 by agents of the intelligence services who fired their weapons, although according to all witnesses present, he did not resist and presented no danger.

Mr Al Hadiqi was hit in the abdomen and legs and taken by ambulance, probably to a hospital (delete). His family was informed of his arrest and the circumstances thereof by his employer but were not informed of what happened to him and in particular whether he was still alive. The authorities whom they later contacted consistently refused to communicate any information about him.

It was only after eight months that his family was informed by a released Yemeni detainee that he was in Al Hayr prison in Riyadh and was disabled because of his gunshot wound.

After many steps taken to be allowed to see him, his family was finally able to visit him in April 2005, one year after his arrest, and it was then confirmed that he had first been held incommunicado and interrogated for several months.

Mr Al Hadiqi said that only when the intelligence services were convinced of his innocence, had he been treated well, implying that he had been subjected to ill-treatment during his interrogation. Mr Al Hadiqi was later transferred to Dahbane prison in Jeddah where he remains today.

Since his arrest, more than four years have passed and Mr Al Hadiqi has never appeared before a magistrate and no legal proceedings have been initiated against him. Despite his calls to challenge the lawfulness of his detention before a judicial authority, no action has been taken and no lawyer has been allowed to assist him despite his requests.

Mr Al Hadiqi’s deprivation of liberty under these conditions is clearly arbitrary. It should be recalled that Saudi Arabia is a member of the Human Rights Council.