Saudi Arabia: M. Walid Lamri, still arbitrarily detained for more than 14 months
Alkarama has forwarded to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention the latest information about Mr. Walid Lamri, defender of human rights and a member of Alkarama, arrested on 27 April 2007 and arbitrarily detained since this time. Imprisoned in solitary confinement for nine months, his family was finally able to visit him.
Alkarama requested the Working Group on 15 August 2007, to intervene with the Saudi authorities. It had also launched an urgent appeal on 30 April, 2007 and requested the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders to intercede in this case.
Walid Ahmed Ali Lamri, a student, was born on July 10, 1982 and lives in Jeddah. He was arrested on 27 April 2007 at 9pm at his home by agents of the intelligence services. He was not informed at the time of his arrest of the grounds of his arrest and no judicial warrant was presented to him.
He was arrested after his return from a tour of work in several cities in the region where he met with families of victims of arbitrary detention who had provided him information on cases of torture and arbitrary arrests and the conditions of detention of their relatives. This information was intended to be communicated to the various mechanisms of UN human rights bodies.
His family, who remained totally deprived of news about him for over 9 months, was able to visit him in the month of February in Jeddah prison, and then also received confirmation that his arrest was linked to his work as a human rights defender.
Since then, his family is allowed to visit him once a month and they confirm that so far, he has never been presented before a magistrate or any prosecutor.
He has always been held in complete isolation and ignores the reasons of his detention. His family is not permitted to arrange a lawyer to assist him and he is therefore unable to challenge the lawfulness of his detention
It must be stressed that Saudi Arabia is a member of the Human Rights Council and it is therefore bound by its commitment to fully cooperate with the Special Procedures of the United Nations.