Saudi Arabia: Dr Al-Hashimi in isolation, victim of ill treatment
23 Jul 2009
Dr. Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashimi, arrested with eight other persons on 2 February 2007 by the Intelligence Services (Mabahith) in Jeddah, is currently detained and subject to ill treatment. Due to his hunger strike that began on 1 June 2009 he has been the victim of retaliation.
Alkarama called upon the Special Rapporteur on torture on 21 July 2009 asking him to urgently intervene with the Saudi authorities to stop the abuse of Dr Al-Hashimi.
We recall that Dr Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashimi, an MD aged 47, a defender of civil and political liberties is known, particularly in the Arab media, for his public pronouncements on issues of domestic politics and international matters such as the Palestinian question and the U.S. intervention in Iraq.
On 14 February 2007, Alkarama submitted a communication to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asking it to urgently intervene in the wake of the arrest and detention of Dr Al-Hashimi and the following eight individuals:
1. Mr Sulaiman Al-Rashoudi
2. Mr Essam Al-Basrawy
3. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Shumairi
4. Dr Abdulaziz Al-Khuraiji
5. Mr Abdulrahman Sadeq Khan
6. Mr Seif Al-Sharif Al-Din Shahine
7. Mr Mohammed Hasan Al-Qurashi
8. Dr Moussa Al-Qarni
All these men were arrested on 2 February 2007 at the home of one of those involved, during a meeting to discuss a project to establish a committee for the defense of civil and political freedoms and the need for constitutional reforms in the country.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted in its opinion 27/2007 of 28 November 2007 that the detention of Dr Saud Al-Hashimi and eight other persons constitutes a serious violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Despite the recommendation by the UN to comply with the law, all nine are unto this day detained arbitrarily. In response, on 14 July 2009, Alkarama again submitted a communication to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to inform it of the situation and ask it to speak with the Saudi authorities in this regard.
While eight of the detainees were transferred to a villa run by the intelligence services, the situation of Dr Al-Hashimi, who is still imprisoned at Rouis prison in Jeddah, has worsened.
His health, already fragile, has deteriorated due to extensive detention in isolation since his arrest 27 months ago, and also due to other ill-treatment meted out to him because he refuses to confess either his political stance nor his activities.
Dr Al-Hashimi decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike on 1 June 2009 as a protest against violations of human rights he suffered, as well as the inhumane conditions of his detention. He is being held in a cell without light, medical care is denied and to date he has not appeared before a judge.
In response to his hunger strike, he was subjected to retaliation and the deterioration of his conditions of detention. He receives blows, is exposed for longer periods of cold and heat and is threatened with death. When requesting that the chains on his feet be loosened, they were consequently tightened. In addition to this, he is permitted only very limited visitation rights.
Alkarama asks that Dr Al-Hashimi be released or at least that his conditions of detention comply with the rules for the treatment of prisoners. Saudi Arabia ratified the Convention against Torture on 23 September 2007 and must remedy this situation by putting it into conformity with its commitments regarding the protection of human rights.
1. Mr Sulaiman Al-Rashoudi
2. Mr Essam Al-Basrawy
3. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Shumairi
4. Dr Abdulaziz Al-Khuraiji
5. Mr Abdulrahman Sadeq Khan
6. Mr Seif Al-Sharif Al-Din Shahine
7. Mr Mohammed Hasan Al-Qurashi
8. Dr Moussa Al-Qarni
All these men were arrested on 2 February 2007 at the home of one of those involved, during a meeting to discuss a project to establish a committee for the defense of civil and political freedoms and the need for constitutional reforms in the country.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted in its opinion 27/2007 of 28 November 2007 that the detention of Dr Saud Al-Hashimi and eight other persons constitutes a serious violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Despite the recommendation by the UN to comply with the law, all nine are unto this day detained arbitrarily. In response, on 14 July 2009, Alkarama again submitted a communication to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to inform it of the situation and ask it to speak with the Saudi authorities in this regard.
While eight of the detainees were transferred to a villa run by the intelligence services, the situation of Dr Al-Hashimi, who is still imprisoned at Rouis prison in Jeddah, has worsened.
His health, already fragile, has deteriorated due to extensive detention in isolation since his arrest 27 months ago, and also due to other ill-treatment meted out to him because he refuses to confess either his political stance nor his activities.
Dr Al-Hashimi decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike on 1 June 2009 as a protest against violations of human rights he suffered, as well as the inhumane conditions of his detention. He is being held in a cell without light, medical care is denied and to date he has not appeared before a judge.
In response to his hunger strike, he was subjected to retaliation and the deterioration of his conditions of detention. He receives blows, is exposed for longer periods of cold and heat and is threatened with death. When requesting that the chains on his feet be loosened, they were consequently tightened. In addition to this, he is permitted only very limited visitation rights.
Alkarama asks that Dr Al-Hashimi be released or at least that his conditions of detention comply with the rules for the treatment of prisoners. Saudi Arabia ratified the Convention against Torture on 23 September 2007 and must remedy this situation by putting it into conformity with its commitments regarding the protection of human rights.