Amnesty International Report 2006 - Saudi Arabia

Killings by security forces and armed groups escalated, exacerbating the already grim human rights situation. Scores of people were arrested for suspected links with armed opposition groups but little information was available about their legal status or conditions in detention. Women remained subject to extensive discrimination in law and practice, and inadequately protected against violence in the home, but there were some signs of reform. Migrant workers also faced discrimination and abuse. At least 86 men and two women were executed, almost half of them foreign nationals.

Background

Crown Prince Abdullah became King and Head of State following King Fahd's death on 1 August and named Prince Sultan, the Defence Minister, as the new Crown Prince. The accession of King Abdullah raised hopes of political reform, including in the area of women's rights, but progress was slow.

In April, the government announced plans to reform the judicial system, introduce specialized labour, commercial and criminal courts, and establish a Supreme Court. In September, the government created a national human rights commission to "protect human rights and spread awareness about them... in keeping with the provisions of Islamic law".

Saudi Arabia's first-ever municipal elections were held in three stages from February to April to fill half of the 600 seats on the country's 178 municipal councils. The other half are filled by government appointees. Women were excluded from the elections, provoking much controversy. Women's rights activists called on the government to appoint women to some of the unelected seats.

Armed clashes and killings

Armed men allegedly aligned to al-Qa'ida engaged in armed confrontations with security forces in which scores of people from both sides were killed. Such clashes occurred in Riyadh, al-Madina, al-Dammam and elsewhere as the government intensified a "campaign for fighting terrorism" announced by the Interior Ministry in February.

• In early April, security forces were reported to have killed 15 armed men and injured others in fighting at al-Ras, near Riyadh. Among the dead were men whose names appeared on a list of 26 wanted men published by the government in late 2003, and a member of the security forces.

• In September, according to reports, five armed men were killed and others were injured when government forces, two of whom were also killed, stormed a house in al-Dammam.

Abuses in the context of the 'war on terror'

The government took various measures to counter the activities of groups suspected of links to al-Qa'ida. It hosted an international counter-terrorism conference in February which recognized that human rights abuses were one cause of terrorism and recommended that specific codes of conduct be devised to assist law enforcement agencies in combating terrorism while respecting human rights. Later, King Abdullah renewed his call for members of armed groups to surrender to the authorities.

Government forces arrested scores of suspected Islamists but disclosed little information about those detained, not even their names. The Interior Ministry reportedly stated that many of those arrested would be tried. However, the secrecy that surrounds the criminal justice system meant that no trials were reported. There was concern that those prosecuted would not receive fair trials.

Some of those arrested were among those named in a new list of 36 "most wanted" suspects, many of them foreign nationals, issued by the government in June. They included Faiz Ayoub, who reportedly handed himself in to the authorities on 1 July.

Among others arrested were at least five Chadian nationals who were detained in June, and Mohamed al-'Ameri and four people believed to be Saudi Arabian nationals who were reportedly detained in al-Madina on 25 July.

Other security suspects were returned to or received from other countries. In February and March, 27 Yemeni nationals were deported to Yemen, where they may have been detained, while Yemeni authorities returned 25 Saudi Arabian nationals to Saudi Arabia on 28 March. Further exchanges of such prisoners between the two countries, and between Saudi Arabia and other countries, were believed to have occurred, but few details were available.

• Salem al-Baloushi was returned in April to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), having been detained incommunicado without charge since February 2003. He was immediately detained in the UAE.

• Ahmed Abu 'Ali, aged 23 and a US national, was returned in February to the USA where he was tried and convicted of conspiring to assassinate US President George W. Bush and other offences. He had been arrested in Saudi Arabia in June 2003 and alleged that he was tortured and ill-treated while held incommunicado for two months and that US officials were aware of this. He also said that US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials had participated in his interrogation in Saudi Arabia and threatened him with transferral to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, or trial in Saudi Arabia where he would not have the right to representation by a lawyer.

Women's rights

Women remained subject to discrimination in law and practice and were not adequately protected against domestic and family violence. However, the government expressed commitment to improving the status of women and was reported in March to be preparing legislation to grant women the right to become permanent members of the Shura (Consultative Council).

The Ministry of Labour announced that it wished to increase the number of women in paid employment. However, it said this would only happen with consideration of "the need of the woman for work, the need of the society for her work, the approval of her legal guardian" and issues of "decency", including dress, and that a woman's work should not be at the expense of her family life or "lead to social or moral problems". Women's rights activists said it was such constraints that resulted in no more than 5 per cent of Saudi Arabian women being in paid employment.

The exclusion of women from participation in the municipal elections was widely criticized by women's rights activists. The government said that there were not enough qualified women to administer women-only registration centres and that not all women had identification cards needed for voting. In response to the criticisms, the Head of the Elections Committee said that he expected that women would participate in future elections.

In April, the Grand Mufti issued a statement banning the practice of forcing women to marry against their will and called for the imprisonment of those who persisted in such practice. However, cases of forced marriages continued to be reported.

• J.A., aged 29, reportedly remained at risk and confined to the family home where she had suffered serious violence since she was 14 years old.

• Rania al-Baz, whose case was widely publicized after she was severely beaten by her former husband, reportedly fled from Saudi Arabia and settled in France.

Repression of freedom of expression and religion

• Mohamed al-'Oshen, editor-in-chief of al-Mohayed newspaper, was detained in January, reportedly after he published articles critical of the government, but he was believed to have been released without charge later that month.

• One woman and 14 men were sentenced in January to prison terms ranging from two to six months and to between 100 and 250 lashes for demonstrating in December 2004 in Jeddah on behalf of the Movement for Islamic Reform. At least six others were said to be awaiting trial.

• In April, police and members of the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice reportedly stormed a house in Riyadh and arrested 40 people of different nationalities, including Pakistani and Filipino migrant workers, for practising Christianity. The detainees were later released.

Political prisoners

Peaceful critics of the state as well as suspected members or sympathizers of armed groups were detained during the year. The exact number of those detained was unclear.

• Dr Sa'id Bin Zu'air, a possible prisoner of conscience held at al-Ha'ir prison in Riyadh, was released in August following a pardon by King Abdullah. Two of his sons, Mubarak Bin Sa'id Bin Zu'air and Sa'ad Bin Sa'id Bin Zu'air, who were detained after they campaigned for their father's release, were freed, the former at the beginning of 2005 and the latter in July.

Several prisoners of conscience were released under a royal pardon declared by King Abdullah on 8 August.

• Dr Matrouk al-Falih, Dr 'Abdullah al-Hamid and 'Ali al-Deminy were released under the pardon. They had been held since March 2004 and were serving sentences of up to nine years' imprisonment imposed in May after a closed session by the Cassation Court in Riyadh. The charges against them included "sowing dissent and disobeying the ruler". Their lawyer, 'Abdel Rahman al-Lahem, who had been in custody since November 2004, was also released following a pardon by the King.

Migrant workers

In August, the government announced plans to reform the country's labour law to improve protection of foreign workers' rights. It warned employers and employment agencies that they could be punished, including with prison terms, if they mistreated workers. The authorities said that new guidelines would be given to migrant workers explaining their rights under Saudi Arabian law and that complaints' mechanisms would be strengthened. It urged abused workers to submit complaints.

Despite these positive initiatives, there continued to be reports of abuses against migrant workers.

• Nour Miyati, an Indonesian woman employed as a domestic worker, was taken by her employer to a Riyadh hospital suffering from serious injuries which necessitated amputation of her fingers. She apparently alleged that her employer had tied her up for a month in a bathroom and assaulted her. According to reports, after she made the allegations she was charged with making false statements against her employer, removed from the hospital and detained for two days by police. She was then released by order of the Governor of Riyadh and handed into the care of a charitable organization.

Judicial corporal punishment

Flogging remained a routine corporal punishment imposed by courts as a main or additional sentence for a wide range of offences, including in cases involving prisoners of conscience.

• Hamza al-Muzaini, an academic, was sentenced to 75 lashes and two months' imprisonment in March for allegedly criticizing a cleric in an article. Crown Prince Abdullah intervened and annulled the sentence.

• Four men who attended a "gay wedding" in Jeddah were sentenced to two years' imprisonment and 2,000 lashes in April; 31 others were sentenced to 200 lashes and between six months and one year in prison. They were prisoners of conscience.

• Twelve Nigerian men were sentenced to seven-year prison terms and 700 lashes in May for assault after they were convicted following an unfair trial.

Death penalty

At least 86 men and two women were executed. Almost half of them were foreign nationals.

• Six Somali men were executed on 4 April even though they had served their prison sentences and been subjected to corporal punishment. Neither they nor their families were aware that they were at risk of execution, and they had not had access to consular or legal assistance.

• Suliamon Olyfemi, a Nigerian, remained under sentence of death. He had been convicted of murder after a trial in November 2004 during which he had no legal representation or translation services from Arabic, which he did not understand.

The authorities did not disclose the number of death sentences, which may have significantly exceeded those known by AI. Defendants in capital cases often do not have legal representation and are not informed of the progress of the proceedings. There was concern that some defendants were convicted and sentenced to death solely or largely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress, torture or deception.