Following the statement issued about ten days ago asking the Human Rights Commission to act regarding the reformists who were detained last February, another group of activists who call for an Islamic constitution and civil society have issued another statement that they plan to send to King Abdullah on September 13th.
The statement has repeated the call to release the reformists or grant them a public trial. It also detailed the justifications for the call, saying these reformists have been involved in peaceful civil action for more than 15 years, which challenges the allegations behind their detention earlier this year.
Moreover, the statement has included some very harsh criticism to the ministry of interior and its approach of dealing with the case. “If MOI possess of evidence that they [the jailed activists] were supporting and financing violence, why do they hesitate to present them for a fair public trial?” the statement asked.
More than 30 persons have signed the statement so far, and and it is now circulating in the hope that more people will sign it before they send it to the King. The current list of signatories included many well-known reformists such as Abdullah al-Hamid, Matruk al-Faleh and Khlaid al-Umrair. Fellow blogger Khalid al-Nassir, one of the signatories, has more on his blog (Arabic).
Related Link::
- Jannat Maimani, wife of Abdul-Rahman al-Shumairi, sends an open letter to human rights organizations (Arabic) detailing some circumstances of the detention.
Saudi Jeans 
What effect do petitions have usually in Saudia?
In the absence of an elected parliament, statements like this one are very important for national discourse. I believe that the many statements which have been issued since the 1990’s have affected public policy in one way or another even if this effect is not very visible for some people.
Okay, it was a sincere question. I had really no idea. But your answer thus is that it does have some influence. That’s good.