GENEVA (17 November 2016) – The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has renewed its call for Saudi Arabia to release nine human rights activists who were jailed after participating in activities relating to the promotion and protection of human rights.
The men should be freed immediately as their detention is in violation of international human rights standards, according to the expert panel which assesses cases independently in the light of international law.
On 12 October 2016, the Alkarama Foundation launched the #KingdomofArbitraryDetention campaign to address arbitrary detention and the prosecution of human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia.
On 5 October 2016, Al Omeir’s eight year sentence for “attempted illegal gathering” and “publishing information online” legally expired. However, Al Omeir has not yet been released and he has begun a hunger strike protesting the Saudi authorities’ refusal to release him.
Arbitrary detentions, secret trials and lengthy prison sentences are the shared fate of anyone who dares to speak up about Saudi Arabia's human rights record or demand basic freedoms from within the Kingdom. Alkarama sheds light on the institutionalised repression practiced by Saudi authorities and honours the fight for human rights led by one of the Kingdom's most prominent group of victims: ACPRA, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association.
On 12 October 2016, and as part of its campaign against arbitrary detention in Saudi Arabia and the prosecution of the Saudi Civil and Political Right Association (ACPRA), Alkarama, AlQst, the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA), the Saudi Organization for Rights and Freedoms (SAORF)and Dewany have called on the UN High Commissioner for Human
On 7 October 2016, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) published its Concluding Observations on the third and fourth periodic review of Saudi Arabia held during its 73rd sessionfrom 13 to 30 September
On 2 September 2016 Alkarama wrote to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) regarding the case of a 32 year-old Saudi citizen who was arrested without a mandate, in the region of Al-Qatif, by members of the intelligence forces of the Saudi Ministry of Interior. He has been detained at the Dammam Central Prison for almost two years without any charges and without having been presented before a judicial authority.
On 1 September 2016, Alkarama referred the case of Mohamed Said, an Egyptian citizen detained in Saudi Arabia, to the Special Rapporteur on Torture (SRT) Juan Méndez, in order to prevent his extradition from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, where he will be at risk of torture.
On 21 September 2014, Murtaja Algariras, 13 years old at the time, was arrested by Saudi police on his way to Bahrain. During the investigation, Murtaja was tortured to extract confessions stating his participation in "illegal gatherings". Almost two years after his arrest, Murtaja has not yet been charged and no date has been set for his trial.
