A Few Good Saudi Men→

A Saudi lawyer who defended activists says he has been hounded out of the country because he stood up for human rights. Now in Washington DC, Abd al-Aziz al-Hussan tells Marc Lynch this his situation is not unique as the government has launched a crackdown on those who dare speak against it. Lynch writes:

During a conversation in Washington this week, Hussan emphasized that this was not just a personal matter. He told me that his case was part of a broader crackdown on human rights activists, lawyers, and reformers. Since the sentencing of Qahtani and Hamed in March, he argued, the Saudi regime has been on the offensive against human rights activists and Sunni protesters. Activists and lawyers such as Fawzan al-Harbi and Abdulkarim al-Khoder have been harassed and interrogated, and security forces have arrested hundreds of demonstrators, holding many of them for weeks without access to lawyers. The Saudi government also appears determined to explore the possibilities for monitoring and controlling social media, particularly Twitter.

Saudi Activist Summoned for Interrogation→

The Gulf Center for Human Rights:

On 6 May 2013, human rights defender, Fawzan al-Harbi received a call from al-Rawda police station  in relation to a warrant issued by the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution in Riyadh. They summoned him to appear on 11 May 2013.

Al-Harbi is the co-founder and deputy president of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and it’s believed that the warrant is related to his human rights activities.

On 22 May 2012, Saudi authorities stopped human rights defender Fowzan al-Harbi at the King Khalid airport in Riyadh and prevented him from traveling to Geneva in order to attend a human rights conference.

Saudi Arabia Urged to Stop Harassing Activists

International watchdog group Human Rights Watch said Monday that Saudi Arabia “should immediately cease harassing” four activists who founded a new human rights organization and allow them to operate in the country.

The New York-based HRW said the public persecutor in Riyadh has summoned Mohammed Abdullah al-Otaibi and three other founding members of the Union for Human Rights (UHR) for questioning, raising fears that the government may press charges against them.

“Yet again, Saudi authorities are threatening with long prison terms those who dare to speak out in favor of human rights reforms,” said HRW’s Sarah Leah Whitson in a statement. “How can establishing a human rights organization be a crime? The Saudi authorities should be welcoming such initiatives, not quashing them.”

Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy, puts tough restrictions on the establishment of civil society organizations. The only government-licensed human rights organization was founded in 2004. Attempts by activists to set up rights group in recent years have been faced by government resistance. A proposed law to regulate civil society organization has been in limbo since 2008.

Earlier this year, a court in Riyadh sentenced two prominent activists to jail for founding an unlicensed human rights organization. Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed were sentenced to a total of 20 years in jail followed by lengthy travel bans.

Amnesty Condemns the Arrest of Saudi Activist→

On Thursday a criminal court in Buraydah – 350km north of the capital Riyadh – ordered the detention of Dr Abdulkareem Yousef al-Khoder. The 48-year-old is a founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Organization (ACPRA) and a professor of comparative jurisprudence at the Faculty of Islamic Jurisprudence at Qassim University.

No reasons were given for the detention order against al-Khoder, which came after a judge arbitrarily blocked a group of around 10 women from accessing the court to observe his trial. Following his ruling, the judge refused to meet with al-Khoder or his lawyer, and the professor has since been held in Buraydah prison.

Global Voices has more details about what happened in the trial.

Playing Favorites→

Andrew Fitzgerald:

What is also disturbing is the Obama administration’s relative silence throughout the trial and in the aftermath of Qahtani’s conviction. While the US has been quick to condemn human rights violations in China and rally behind persecuted activists there, President Obama has seemed hesitant to do the same regarding Saudi Arabia.

If the Obama administration wants to use the global movement for democracy and human rights as a rhetorical and diplomatic tool, it needs to apply equal criticism not only to its rivals but to its own policies and the policies of its allies as well.

US Government Commission Urges Saudi Arabia to Release Two Jailed Activists→

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called Thursday for the Saudi government to release Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed. USCIRF, an independent bipartisan US federal government commission, called the jail sentences against the activists a “shocking step in the wrong direction” and welcomed the State Department’s concern about their case:

“Along with other Commissioners, I had the honor during a recent USCIRF trip to Saudi Arabia to host a meeting with Mr. al-Qahtani, one of two founding members of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), an independent human rights organization,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF’s Chair. “We had sought out Mr. al-Qahtani, one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent human rights activists, for his assessment of the status of freedom of religion and conscience in the Kingdom. ACPRA has issued numerous reports on rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, submitted information to the U.N. Human Rights Council and other international human rights mechanisms, and has criticized Saudi ministries and officials for their alleged human rights violations.

Jailed Activists Not Chained in Metal Shackles, Government Spokesman Says

Lawyers of two detained prominent Saudi activists said Tuesday that their clients refused to see them when they came to visit them in prison because the guards did not unshackle their hands and feet. Activists Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed have been detained since Saturday after a court in Riyadh sentenced them to lengthy jail sentences and travel bans.

“We just came out of Malaz Prison and my clients have refused to meet us in chains,” lawyer Abdulaziz al-Hussan said on Twitter at 2:34pm local time. “Prison administrator refused to unchain them and asked us to bring an order from the governorate.”

Few hours later, the governorate spokesman released a statement denying the allegations that al-Qahtani and al-Hamed have had their hands and feet tied with metal shackles. “Riyadh Governorate would like to clarify that prison regulations do not state that such prisoners would be chained while they are inside the prison,” the statement said. The spokesman added that the prison administration has filed a complaint with the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution against lawyer Abdulaziz al-Hussan for allegedly spreading false information.

However, an account by Abdulaziz Al-Shubaily, a member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, appeared to contradict the official spokesperson’s statement and support what al-Hussan said earlier.

Al-Subaily posted to Twitter at 1:26pm that he has just visited al-Qahtani and al-Hamed in prison, saying he has never seen them in such high spirits. Two hours later, he posted a series of tweets talking about the visit. One tweet reads: “We were allowed in. We greeted them in the hallway where they were brought for the visit. They were smiling, their hands and feet shackled.” In the following tweets he mentioned parts of the conversation he had with them. According to al-Shubaily’s account of the visit, the two activists said they will not abandon their demands for reform and a constitutional monarchy.

Activists on Twitter expressed their support to lawyer Abdulaziz al-Hussan in the face of what they described as an attempt of intimidation. Twitter users used the hashtag “We are all Abdulaziz al-Hussan” to post about what happened to the lawyer. “Is it revenge because he defended al-Hamed and al-Qahtani?” asked independent journalist Turki Abdulhai.

“When the political targeting reaches lawyers that means we have hit rock bottom,” said and publisher Nawaf al-Qudaimi. “There is nothing lower than this.”

US ‘Concerned’ About Activists Jail Sentences, Rights Groups Urge Saudi Government to Release Them

The United States on Monday said it was “concerned” about the jail sentences handed down by a Saudi court to two prominent human rights activists in the country. Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed were Saturday sentenced to at least 10 years in jail for setting up an unlicensed human rights organization.

“We are concerned that these two very prominent Saudi human rights activists have been sentenced to prison,” said Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokesperson. Asked if the issue was raised during Secretary of State John Kerry recent visit to Saudi Arabia, Nuland said “the issues of human rights and reform progress in Saudi were obviously discussed, as they always are when we are there.”

Kerry’s visit was followed by another visit by US Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. who arrived to Riyadh on the same day of the activists trial and met Crown Prince Salman and other Saudi officials, including Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eisa. Holder held a press conference at the US Embassy on Sunday but it appears that he was not asked by the trial.

International human rights groups have criticized the jailing of al-Qahtani and al-Hamed, called the trial “politically motived,” and urged the Saudi government to release them.

“This is simply an outrageous case, which shows the extremes Saudi authorities are prepared to go to silence moderate advocates of reform and greater respect for human rights”, said Eric Goldstein, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division at Human Rights Watch. In a statement published Monday, human rights watchdog Amnesty International called the jail sentences “yet another stain on the country’s record when it comes to attacking free expression.” Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty, said al-Qahtani and al-Hamed “have been imprisoned solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association and are therefore prisoners of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally.”

There was no comment from the Saudi National Society of Human Rights, but many Saudis took to Twitter to express their reaction to the trial. Blogger Eman al-Nafjan has translated tweets by some influential Saudi Twitter users who commented on the trial. Lawyer Ibrahim al-Modaimeegh, for instance, said the court ruling “leaves no room for doubt that the judiciary is politicized and is not independent.”

ACPRA Statement on Activists Trial→

The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) has released a statement today about the jail sentences handed down to its co-founders Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed last Saturday. In the statement, ACPRA called the trial “purely political” and based on prosecution of opinions. “We confirm and repeat that the origin of this case is the human rights violations committed by the Saudi government, and our attempt to stand up to these violation and document them,” ACPRA said. The statement also revealed that al-Qahtani and al-Hamed have been told during interrogation that the government will not seek legal action against them if they agreed to stop their activism, but according to the statement the two men preferred “going to jail over going silent.”

Saudi Activists Silenced, US Silent→

By yours truly for the Middle East Channel in Foreign Policy:

When Saudi activists Abdullah al-Hamed and Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani headed to the Criminal Court in Riyadh on Saturday morning, they knew what was waiting for them. The two founding members of the banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) have been on trial since June 2012, and the judge was expected to hand down his ruling at the session scheduled on Saturday. As the defendants arrived to the court, they were received by more than 100 activists who came to show their support and attend the hearing which was also marked by a heavy presence of security officers with truncheons hanging from their belts.

Activists Lawyer Accuses Government of Interference, Escalation

Lawyer of two prominent Saudi activists have accused the government of interfering in the trial that concluded yesterday with jail sentences against the activists. Lawyer Abdulaziz al-Hussan told Sabq that the sentences were expected but he considered the judge’s order to arrest activists Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed an “escalation” from the government. Al-Hussan said they plan to appeal the court decision after they receive the official papers in two weeks, but until then both activists will remain in detention, a procedure he called “unjustified.” While the activists and their supporters may find the jail sentences harsh, that did not seem to be the case for the public prosecutor. Al-Riyadh reported that the prosecutor has announced after the hearing that he plans to file an objection memo soon, which means he is likely to ask for harsher sentences.

Prominent Saudi Activists Sentenced to Jail

A court in Riyadh has sentenced two prominent Saudi activists to jail time and travel ban for founding an unlicensed human rights organization. After the sentences were announced, presiding judge Hammad al-Omar has ordered the arrest of Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed. The judge has also ordered the the dissolving of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association and the confiscation of its property, including the closure of its websites and social media accounts.

The activist al-Qahtani was sentenced to 10 years in jail and a travel ban for 10 years. His fellow ACPRA co-founder al-Hamed was sentenced to 5 years in jail and added 6 years from a previous sentenced that the King pardoned in 2006. That means al-Hamed would spend 11 years in jail in addition to a 5-year travel ban. The verdict session that took place in the Criminal Court in Riyadh was well attended by activists and the media, but the attendees were not allowed to bring their smartphones inside the courtroom.

عند البوابة الداخلية للمحكمة #محاكمة_حسم - twitter.com/DrRAYQ/status/…

— مصعب فؤاد ®❕ (@DrRAYQ) March 9, 2013

Al-Qahtani and al-Hamed have been on trial since June 2012. The government is accusing them with a series of offenses, including founding an unlicensed human rights organization, seeking to disrupt security and inciting disorder, undermining national unity, breaking allegiance to the ruler, disobeying the ruler, and questioning the integrity of officials. The jail sentences were expected by both activists. Al-Qahtani has previously said that expects to be sent to prison, and al-Hamed has told the judge during the trial that he is ready for jail.

Many activists say this trial was a landmark because al-Qahtani and al-Hamed have insisted on their right to an open and public trial. Over more than six months of hearings, other Saudi activists, intellectuals and academics have crowded the courtroom in an unprecedented show of support. They have also taken to social media talk about the case and criticize the government. Reacting to the verdict on Twitter, some Saudis who have followed the case have expressed shock and outrage. “Mockery... Mockery,” said businessman and columnist Essam al-Zamel. Lawyer Badr al-Jaafari wrote it is “another day of tampering with the value of justice in the name of Sharia and under the cloak of religion.”

Maha al-Qahtani, wife of the activist, said she does not find it strange that her husband would be thrown in jail for demanding reform as many others have been unfairly imprisoned before. “What is strange,” she said, “is that people still long to justice and hope for reform.”

Saudi Rights Group Asks Government to Release Protesters→

Authorities must free all detained protesters, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) said in a statement released Sunday. In the statement published on their site, ACPRA listed the names of 37 women and 12 children who were arrested after staging protests in Riyadh and Buraidah on Saturday to demand the release of the detained family members. “ACPRA demands the immediate release of all protesters, women and men,” the statement said, “as protest is a legitimate right guaranteed by Sharia and international accords signed by the Saudi government.” ACPRA added that there is no text in the Saudi law that says protests are illegal.

36 Days in Jail for Human Rights Slogan on His Car→

Global Voices reports the story of Mohammad al-Olayan, a Saudi man who says he was detained for 36 days after the police saw a human rights slogan written on his car that read: “No to arbitrary detainment.” The man denied that he was responsible for the slogan.

‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’→

Saudi activist Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani Speaks to CNN:

Good Saudi Men Facing Jail→

Former Washington Post reporter Janine Zacharia writes about Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani. The Saudi activist has been on trial for months and is now waiting for a verdict. The verdict hearing, which was originally scheduled for later this week, has been postponed.

Al-Qahtani told Zacharia that he expects to be sent to prison for roughly three years, a sentence, he told her, that the government will deem “palatable to international human rights organizations. The Saudi regime doesn’t care about its local subjects,” he said. “This is my expectation. I hope I am wrong on that one.” Zacharia says the Obama administration should speak up about the case:

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has always been appalling. The chaotic outcome of the Arab revolutions has, regrettably, made the United States and other Western powers even more reluctant to pressure Saudi leaders to promote democratic reforms.

With good men facing jail, now would be the right time for Western governments — and Washington in particular — to set aside those concerns and do something to try to reverse this trend of Saudi Arabia imprisoning writers and activists.

That Saudi Arabia allows so much freedom on its pan-Arab Al Arabiya satellite channel and Al Hayat newspaper while continuing to imprison writers and activists at home is especially hypocritical and abhorrent. It’s a point that Obama should make to the Saudis, to at least try to prevent Qahtani and his colleague from being sent to jail and silenced.

It is important to point out, however, that the freedom she says is allowed on Al Arabia, al-Hayat and other Saudi-owned pan-Arab media, does not extend to cover direct criticism of the Saudi government.

Saudi Activist Trial Hearing Concluded→

Global Voices reports the trial of Saudi activists Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed. Read all the way to the end to find out about the arrest of Sky News Arabia correspondent Abdulmohsen al-Gabbani who was detained when he left the courtroom to film a report for the TV channel.

Interior Ministry Manipulates Judiciary, Saudi Activists On Trial Say→

Online news site Sabq continues to provide extended coverage for the trial of Saudi activists Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed. The last hearing session was held earlier today in a court in Riyadh. The government accuses them of a series of charges including breaking allegiance to the ruler, questioning the integrity of officials and founding an unlicensed human rights organization. In this hearing, al-Qahtani and al-Hamed continued to defend themselves against what they described as “the oppression of the Interior Ministry.” The judge is expected to rule in the case in two weeks.

How Did Saudi Media Cover the Activists Trial?

Citizen journalism powerhouse Global Voices continue their excellent coverage of the trial of Saudi activists Abdullah al-Hamed and Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani. The founding members of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) are accused of undermining national unity, breaking allegiance to the ruler and operating an unlicensed human rights organization, among other charges.

For the sake of comparison, let’s take a look at how local media outlets have covered the latest hearing session that took place Saturday at the criminal court in Riyadh.

The only decent coverage has come from the internet-only publication Sabq. The usually sensationalist news outfit has surprised many with their extended and detailed coverage of the trial as well as the tone of Sultan al-Malki’s reporting on this case. Kudos to them.

The Saudi edition of the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat has managed to provide some neutral reporting at the beginning of the trial but that does not seem to be the case anymore. Their story on the latest hearing session was lacking and seemed to put many of the statements said by the defendants at the courtroom out of their context. For example, the newspaper reported that al-Qahtani said a person outside the country is running ACPRA, when it seems that what al-Qahtani has said is that the person who runs ACPRA website is not based in Saudi Arabia.

At least both Sabq and al-Hayat had the decency to publish the names of the defendants. Neither al-Riyadh or Okaz did.

In the case of capital’s namesake newspaper, editors decided to divide their coverage of the hearing session into two stories: one for the argument of the public prosector, another for the defense of the activists. Al-Riyadh referred to al-Hamed as “an academic, 65, on trial while he is free.” What is that supposed to mean? Are the editors suggesting that he should be locked up while he is still on trial.

But if there were an award for the most biased coverage, Okaz would win it hands down. Not only did they refer to the defendants just by their initials, they pretty much ignored everything they have said. For the editors in the Jeddah-based newspaper, al-Hamed and al-Qahtani are not simply accused of “seeking to disrupt security and inciting disorder.” No, for them, al-Hamed and al-Qahtani has indeed sought disrupting security and inciting disorder.

The next hearing session of the trial has been scheduled for December 29, and it is expected to be the last hearing session before the judge rules in the case.

Saudi Activist Al-Rashoudi Arrested

Saudi authorities have arrested political activist Suleiman al-Rashudi after he gave a lecture about the permissibility of protests, according to tweets by family members today. Using his Twitter account, al-Rashudi’s wife said her husband was arrested on his way to Qassim. “The reason, I believe, is because of his latest lecture,” she said.

Al-Rashudi is a lawyer and a former judge. He was arrested in 2007 with a group of activists who came to be known as the “Jeddah Reformers.” The government accused them of of terrorism and plotting to overthrow the monarchy. Amnesty International described them in its 2011 annual report as “advocates of peaceful political reform.”

After four years in detention, al-Rushoudi was released in 2011 on bail. Four months later, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by a travel ban for another 15 years, but the sentence was not carried out.

Speaking before an audience of fellow activists Monday in Riyadh, al-Rashoudi said there is nothing in Islamic Sharia that bans peaceful protest. “The tyrant regime has closed all the other doors for reform,” he said, adding that the government “has not undertaken any serious reforms since the Arab Spring started,” despite all the calls for change on social media.

Al-Rashoudi, a veteran activist, was recently elected president of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). Two members of the unlicensed human rights group are currently on trial.