Civil society has the opportunity to provide information on the human rights situation in Kuwait when the country is examined by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) in October 2011. The Committee will review whether Kuwait is respecting the civil and political rights of its citizens.

Morocco will be reviewed by the Committee against Torture (also known as CAT) in early November 2011. This is an opportunity for civil society to raise any issues they may have with the Moroccan authorities regarding torture, as the United Nations human rights body will examine the situation of torture in the country closely.

Following complaints about prison conditions which Mr Mikhlif Al Shammari, a 56 year old human rights defender from Saudi Arabia, sent to the Director General of prisons in Saudi Arabia, he was taken from his cell by prison guards on 27 July 2011 and subjected to severe torture including threats to his life followed by an attempt to kill him.

Alkarama today submitted information about

The report of the Fact Finding

Bilal Abu Haikal, a 24 year old Lebanese student, has been held in Saudi Arabia since 18 July 2009, yet was never brought before a judge during the first 18 months of his detention. When he was presented to a judge in early February of this year, he was sentenced without a trial to two years in prison, in clear violation of internationals norms for a fair trial. Despite having served this 2 year term which ended on 28 June 2011, Abu Haikal remains detained in Al Hayr Prison in Saudi Arabia with no legal justification.

Ziad Ramadan, the Syrian man detained more than 6 years ago by the Syrian authorities who accused him of being implicated in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, remains detained despite having served his entire 6 year sentence and despite the call made by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention last November for his release.

On 2 August 2011, Fahd Ali was taken back to his cell following a session of torture. Shortly after, he started to have convulsions. His co-detainees immediately called the guards, who did not respond for thirty minutes. They finally took Mr Adnan out of his cell, but brought him back in the same state two hours later.