Freedom in the World 2001 - Saudi Arabia

2001 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 7.0
Civil Liberties: 7
Political Rights: 7

Overview

Faced with its 18th straight year of budget deficits and an economy growing too slowly to sustain population growth, the Saudi ruling family introduced measures to promote foreign investment, privatize the state-dominated economy, and diversify away from dependence on oil revenue. However, declining living standards, increasing unemployment, official corruption, fiscal mismanagement, and the denial of basic political and civil rights continue to threaten social stability.

King Abd al-Aziz al-Saud consolidated the Nejd and Hejaz regions of the Arabian peninsula into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. His son, King Fahd Bin Abd al-Aziz al-Saud, ascended the throne in 1982 after a series of successions within the family. The king rules by decree and serves as prime minister as well as supreme religious leader. The overwhelming majority of Saudis belong to the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam. In 1992, King Fahd appointed a 60-member consultative council, or Majlis al-Shura. The Majlis plays only an advisory role and is not regarded as a significant political force. The king expanded it to 90 members, including three Shiite Muslims, in 1997.

King Fahd's poor health has raised concerns about succession. The system of fraternal succession adopted by Abd al-Aziz to prevent fratricide among his 44 sons presents the possibility that a series of aging, sickly potential rulers will leave Saudi Arabia with no direction at a time when waning prosperity requires strong leadership. Although Crown Prince Abdullah, 76, has effectively ruled since Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, the succession after Abdullah is unclear. A 1994 decree gives the king the unilateral right to name his own successor, but philosophical and ideological rifts within the ruling family and varying degrees of power and spheres of influence among potential heirs will make any choice problematic. Of Abd al-Aziz's 25 living sons, many regard themselves as contenders, while others advocate passing power to the next generation.

Saudis have sacrificed civic freedom and political participation for material wealth, modernity, education, and a heavily subsidized welfare state in a social contract that has provided the main source of legitimacy for the government. However, economic mismanagement and lavish spending by members of the royal family, along with high population growth, pose an impending threat to this social contract. Unemployment is estimated at up to 35 percent and is expected to rise as a slow-growing job market contends with 100,000 people entering the workforce every year. Billions of dollars have disappeared in unbudgeted expenditures by royals as quality of life has declined for less affluent Saudis. While dissent has not surfaced as a threat to the regime since the early 1990s, there is concern over the decreased ability of the regime to placate citizens. A rare instance of unrest near the Yemeni border following a government crackdown on a Shiite religious minority group in April demonstrated discontent with abuses by Saudi Arabia's religious police.

The government enacted several measures this year aimed at promoting foreign investment and privatization, including tax reform and laws allowing full foreign ownership of enterprises and real estate. In April, Saudi officials began discussions with 12 international oil firms that proposed investment in projects worth up to $100 billion. A tourism authority was set up in hopes of stimulating a new industry, and a new law aimed at improving transparency bans cabinet ministers from holding top jobs in companies. However, a recent list of areas off limits to foreign investors includes insurance, media, military equipment, investment funds, and telecommunications, while many new measures designed to increase foreign investment require clarification. Moreover, despite decreases in security and defense spending, cutting subsidies to royals is seen as politically dangerous because of its potential to spark destabilizing feuds among branches of the royal family.

Three car bombs exploded in Riyadh in November and December, killing one British citizen and wounding five British and Irish nationals. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but many linked them to an enhanced climate of hostility toward Israel and its Western supporters resulting from the outbreak of violence between Israel and Palestinians late in the year. A Lebanese, a Belgian, and an American were reportedly held in connection with the bombings at year's end.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Saudis cannot change their government democratically. Political parties are illegal, the king rules by decree, and there are no elections at any level. Majlis membership is not representative of the population. A council of senior ruling family members was established in 2000 with Crown Prince Abdullah as chair. Membership includes a broad cross-section of royals, including Prince Talal bin Abd al-Aziz, who has been a vocal proponent of liberalization. Noticeably absent is Interior Minister Nayef bin Abd al-Aziz, who is known for his ultra-conservative views. The apparent aim of the council is to facilitate decision making and to provide a wider power base for Abdullah in the interest of political stability.

In April, the government announced its intention to set up two human rights committees, whose responsibilities and activities are as yet unclear. Also, a United Nations investigator was invited to examine Saudi Arabia's justice system. Authorities denied that these moves came in response to criticism by international human rights monitors.

Judicial independence is undermined by the influence of the royal family and its associates. The king has broad powers to appoint or dismiss judges, and there is no standard penal or criminal code. Judges may define criminal offenses and set punishments at their discretion. The legal system is based on Sharia law and allows for corporal punishment such as flogging and amputation, which are widely practiced. Trials are routinely held in secret. Death by beheading is the prescribed punishment for rape, murder, armed robbery, adultery, apostasy, and drug trafficking. People sentenced to death are often unaware of the sentence and receive no advance notice of their execution. Some are never made aware of the charges against them. The law allows heirs of a victim to demand "blood money" in exchange for sparing the life of a murderer. At least 125 people were reportedly executed in 2000, compared with 98 in 1999 and 29 in 1998. Most of them were foreigners.

Arbitrary arrest and detention are widespread. Under a 1983 law, detainees may be held for 51 days without trial, but in practice they are often held longer. Detainees are rarely informed of their legal rights. Police routinely torture detainees, and signed confessions extracted under torture may be used, uncorroborated, as evidence. Detainees enjoy no due process safeguards or right to counsel. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), about 400 inmates at the central prison in Al-Jawf rioted in August to protest poor prison conditions.

Freedom of expression is severely restricted by prohibitions on criticism of the government, Islam, and the ruling family. The government owns all domestic broadcast media and closely monitors privately owned but publicly subsidized print media. The information minister must approve and may remove all editors in chief. The entry of foreign journalists into the kingdom is tightly restricted, and foreign media are heavily censored where possible. The government outlawed the private ownership of satellite dishes in 1994. Internet access was made available in 1999 with filters to block information deemed pornographic, offensive to Islam, or a threat to state security. According to HRW, there are currently about 30 Internet service providers in Saudi Arabia, with some 100,000 subscribers. Authorities shut down a women-only Internet café in April for reasons of "public morality." In August, police blocked access to clubs hosted by the search engine Yahoo! because of pornographic and political content.

Political public demonstrations are prohibited, and public gatherings are segregated by sex. There are no publicly active human rights groups, and the government prohibits visits by international human rights groups and independent monitors.

Islam, particularly the Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam, is the state religion, and all citizens must be Muslim. Shiite Muslims, who constitute about a third of the population, face systematic political and economic discrimination, such as arbitrary arrest on suspicion of subversion or pro-Iranian activities. Although accurate information is difficult to obtain, it appears that a member of the security forces was killed and several others wounded in clashes with demonstrators who protested the closure of a Shiite mosque in April. Apparently, hundreds of Shia from the Ismaili religious community took to the streets in Najran after Saudi religious police raided the mosque, seized books, and shut it down. Other accounts indicated that riots followed the arrest of a Shiite imam (prayer leader) and several of his followers. Scores of Shia were reportedly arrested in a crackdown following the riots. One tribal chief reported that 40 people had died in the unrest, but authorities denied the allegation. The government prohibits the practice of non-Muslim religions, but tolerates private worship.

Women are segregated in workplaces, schools, restaurants, and on public transportation, and they may not drive. They are required to wear the abaya, a black garment covering the head, face, and body. Officers of the Mutawwai'in, or Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, harass women for violating conservative dress codes and for appearing in public with unrelated males. Women may not travel within or outside the kingdom without a male relative. Although they make up half the student population, women account for less than six percent of the workforce. They are not allowed to study engineering, law, or journalism. In the past two years, the issue of greater freedom for women has received wider attention. In 1999, women were issued identity cards for the first time, thus allowing them to be listed as citizens rather than as dependents on their families' cards. In 2000, a female member of the royal family was appointed assistant undersecretary at the ministry of education – the highest position ever held by a Saudi woman. In October, the government announced plans to allow women to join the police force. Businesswomen's associations are active throughout the country.

Government permission is required to form professional groups and associations, which must be nonpolitical. Trade unions, collective bargaining, and strikes are prohibited. Foreign workers are especially vulnerable to abuse, including beatings and rape, and are often denied legitimate claims to wages, benefits, or compensation. They are not protected under labor law, and courts generally do not enforce the few legal protections provided to them. In a campaign to increase economic opportunities for Saudis, authorities offered an amnesty to illegal foreign workers, under which they could legalize their status or leave the country. Those remaining illegally after July 3 could be fined up to $27,000 and deported.