Category News

“Give Them Hope”

Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for vice president, speaks on Saudi Arabia and how the US administration should deal with the Saudi government. I will join some American friends tomorrow night for an election night party. Due to time difference the party will start around midnight here, so that should be fun :-) [via]

Shia Khums: Where’s Our Money?

Some young people from Qatif have published an open letter to Shia religious leaders, calling for a reform in management of Khums. According to Shia Islamic legal terminology, Khums means “one-fifth of certain items which a person acquires as wealth, and which must be paid as an Islamic tax.”

In their letter, they raised questions on the fate of millions of riyals paid by the faithful. These enormous amounts of money have gone to support religious schools in Iraq, Iran and other places, as well as supporting liberation movements in other countries. Meanwhile, most people in the local Shia communities never dared to ask where does the money go and how it is spent, especially when our communities suffer from many problems that could have been solved using these vast resources.

I join these young men and women in their call for more transparency regarding the management of Khums money. The lack of transparency and accountability has led to increased incidents of corruption and misuse of power. If religious leaders claim the Khums money is spent the way God intended, then they should not be afraid to come out and publish regular financial reports to back these claims. I believe we have the right to know how our resources are managed, and I believe that our local communities are entitled to see these resources contribute to improving living standards of people here.

Call for Hunger Strike

The defense teams of jailed human rights activists in Saudi Arabia have issued a statement this week saying that after exerting all means to get fair treatment to the constitutional movement’s detainees, they have decided to observe a 48-hour hunger strike. The proposed strike will take place on Thursday and Friday, 6-7 November 2008, in protest against flagrant human rights violations for all detainees in Saudi prisons who have been deprived of their basic rights as guaranteed by the Law of Criminal Procedures and Arrest and Detention Law, which stated the following:

  • The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution shall conduct its investigation and prosecution in accordance with its Law and the implementing regulations thereof (Article 14).
  • During the investigation, the accused shall have the right to seek the assistance of a representative or an attorney (Article 64)…… to defend him during the investigation and trial stages (Article 4).
  • An arrested person shall not be subjected to any bodily or moral harm. Similarly, he shall not be subjected to any torture or degrading treatment (Article 2).
  • Whoever is arrested or detained shall be promptly notified of the reasons for his arrest or detention and shall be entitled to communicate with any person of his choice to inform him of his arrest (Article 116).
  • In all cases, the Investigator shall order that the accused may not communicate with any other prisoner or detainee, and that he not be visited by anyone (i.e., solitary confinements) for a period not exceeding sixty days if the interest of the investigation so requires, without prejudice to the right of the accused to communicate with his representative or attorney (Article 119).
  • In cases that require detention for a longer period, the matter shall be referred to the Director of the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution to issue an order that the arrest be extended for a period or successive periods none of which shall exceed thirty days and their aggregate shall not exceed six months from the date of arrest of the accused. Thereafter, the accused shall be directly transferred to the competent court, or be released (Article 114).
  • Court hearings shall be public (Article 155). The judgment shall be read in an open session at which the parties must be present……. supporting evidence and arguments, the stages of the action, the text of the judgment, reasons and legal bases therefore, and whether it was rendered unanimously or by majority vote (Article 182).
  • A visitation right for prisoners by their family members, friends and legal counselors (Arrest and Detention Law, Article 12)

The defense team declared their observance of a hunger strike in solidarity with following jailed human right activists from the constitutional movement and civil society in Saudi Arabia:

  1. Professor Matrook H. Al-Faleh, political science professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, detained by security forces in May 19, 2008.
  2. Attorney Suliman Ibrahim Al-Reshoudi, former judge and human-right advocate, detained in February 2, 2007.
  3. Attorney Dr. Mousa Mohammed Al-Qarni, former university professor and human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
  4. Professor Abdulrahman Mohammed Al-Shomari, former professor of education and human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
  5. Dr. Abdulaziz Suliman Al-Khereiji, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
  6. Saifaldeen Faisal Al-Sherif, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
  7. Fahd Alskaree Al-Qurashi, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
  8. Abdulrahman Bin Sadiq, Human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
  9. Dr. Saud Mohammed Al-Hashemi, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
  10. Ali Khosifan Al-Qarni, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
  11. Mansour Salim Al-Otha, human-right activist, detained in December 12, 2007.

They, furthermore, announced their sympathy with all opinion prisoners in the Saudi jails who suffer human right abuses with no fair chances of defending themselves in accordance with the Law of Criminal Procedures and by getting fair and just trials. Many activists have answered the call (their names will be announced at a later date), and they will participate in the proposed 48-hour hunger strike during the two specified dates to show their objection against the repeated violations of the criminal and detention laws vis-à-vis jailed activists. The demand is quite simple: either to set the detainees free or instantly grant them fair and public trials.

They welcome all activists and citizens who have conscious feelings and interested in participating in the proposed hunger strike to show sympathy and solidarity with all detainees whose basic rights have been violated. Their names and information can be registered by calling members of the defense teams whose phone numbers appear below.

Names of the members of the defense teams who are participating in the hunger strike to show solidarity with the aforementioned detainees:

  1. Ayman Mohammad Al-Rashed, human-right activist. Mobile# +966505288354
  2. Saud Ahmed Al-Degaither, human-right activist. Mobile# +966559201964
  3. Professor Abdulkareem Yousef Al-Khadher, College of Islamic Jurisprudence, Qassim University. Mobil# +966503331113
  4. Dr. Abdulrahman Hamed Al-Hamed, professor of Islamic economics. Mobile# +966503774446
  5. Abdullah Mohammad Al-Zahrani, human-right activist.
  6. Abdulmohsin Ali Al-Ayashi, human-right activist. Mobile# +966553644636
  7. Fahd Abdulaziz Al-Oraini, human-right activist. Mobile# +966502566678. Email: fahadalorani@gmail.com
  8. Fowzan Mohsin Al-Harbi, Human-right activist. Mobile# +966501916774 Email: fowzanm@gmail.com
  9. Dr. Mohammad Fahd Al-Qahtani, college professor and TV show host. Mobile# +966555464345. Email: moh.alqahtani@gmail.com
  10. Mohana Mohammed Al-Faleh, human-right activist. Mobile# +966505388205
  11. Nasser Salim Al-Otha, human-right activist.
  12. Hashim Abdullah Al-Refai, writer and activist.
  13. Waleed Sami Abu Alkhair, writer and activist. Mobile# +966567761788. Fax# +96614272168. Email: abualkair@gmail.com

This act of peaceful protest is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and I believe this is the least we can do for those people. Please join the call and spread the word.

Municipal Elections Postponed

Saudi Arabia’s upcoming municipal elections are likely to be put off for at least two years, informed sources told Saudi Gazette last week. The elections are scheduled for 2009, but the sources said they might be postponed while the government conducts a study to evaluate the previous cycle. Sounds like a lame excuse, if you ask me. Why is it only now that they are thinking about studying the previous elections and their results? Isn’t this supposed to be an ongoing process since day 1? Why does it sound like an afterthought?

When I voted back in 2005 I thought I was making history. But shortly after the municipal councils were formed, disappointment quickly replaced excitement and pride. News emerged on how religious leaders manipulated elections using so-called “golden lists.” We found the councils to be powerless, handicapped by rigid regulations. Appointing the other half of council members seemed to harm more than help. When public frustration over the performance of the councils made its way to the media, elected members defended themselves saying they could only work within the very limited space given to them.

Earlier this year, five members of Hail municipal council resigned because they felt it was useless to occupy seats with virtually no power. But the resignation which attracted more media attention was that of Abdullah al-Suwailim, member of Riyadh municipal council, who resigned in protest to what he described as violations of Islamic rules during this year’s Eid Al-Fitr festivities in the city, namely: the lack of segregation of single men from families, non-Muslims entertaining audiences and live music that was played in one of the theatrical productions.

It is true that the previous elections were far from perfect and suffered from many notable shortcomings, but putting off the elections is not the answer. Postponing the elections raises serious concerns over the country’s commitment to reform and democratization. I believe that King Abdullah is committed to reform, and this has been obvious in the agenda he has pushed over the past few years. However, many officials show ignorance and indifference to this agenda, as well as a complete disregard to the aspirations of citizens who dare to dream of a better Saudi Arabia.

Another Human Rights Prize for Al-Lahem

Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem, the well-known Saudi lawyer, was awarded earlier this year the International Human Rights Lawyer Award from the American Bar Association, but sadly he could not receive the award in person because he is not allowed to travel outside the country.

This week, al-Lahem has received another honor, winning the 2008 Human Rights Defender award from Human Rights Watch (HRW). The international organization called the Saudi government to immediately lift the ban on foreign travel for al-Lahem so that he can attend the award ceremonies in London, Paris, and Geneva this November.

“Barring al-Lahem from travel only highlights the severe and arbitrary limits to basic freedoms and fairness in the kingdom,” Christoph Wilcke, senior researcher on Saudi Arabia at HRW said.

I hope these calls will not fall on deaf ears, and I hope to see our two local human rights organizations make a statement, not just on behalf of al-Lahem, but also for all activists who has been working to promote the culture of citizens’ rights. It has been almost four years since the travel ban was imposed on the lawyer who has shown exceptional courage in his relentless effort to defend human rights in the Kingdom. Once again, it is about time.

The End is Nigh?

Saudi Arabia’s top judiciary official has issued a religious decree saying it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast immoral content. The 79-year-old Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan said Thursday that satellite channels cause the “deviance of thousands of people.”

He did not name any particular channel, but many of the top Arab TV networks like Rotana and MBC are owned by members of the royal family or people closely connected to them. Is this the end to al-Lihedan reign at the top of the judiciary system, especially with the upcoming reforms proposed by the king last year? It is about time.

UPDATE: Al-Lihedan says he was misunderstood and that his statement has been taken out of context. Yeah, right. Whatever!

Real Job of HRC

Turki al-Sudairi, chairman of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), told Arab News today that his organization has handled over 10,000 complaints since it was founded three years ago. He then went on to count the other great achievements his organization has made, including the formation of a higher committee to distribute booklets on human rights to official bodies.

Did you get that? Not just any committee, that’s a higher committee who will be responsible for the enormous task of distributing booklets. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mean to belittle the work of HRC, but this kind of PR fluff just gets on my nerves, and a reporter like Walaa Hawari should know better. But what’s really bugging me about them is this: as a governmental organization, HRC has been given the power to question other government bodies on their abuses of human rights, but some of those bodies simply ignore HRC and continue their abuses like it’s 1994.

Apparently, HRC seem to think that they can’t do anything if other government bodies did not cooperate with them. But I think this is not the case. HRC is no less than a ministry, and if anyone thinks he is too good to deal with them they should simply report him to the Prime Minister, i.e. the King himself who signed the decree to establish this organization. People who use their positions and power to violate human rights should be held accountable for their ugly actions, and until we have an elected parliament or the Shoura Council members get some balls, this is the job of organizations like HRC.