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ABSENCE BEHIND WALLS THE CRIME OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE IN SAUDI ARABIA International Coalition for Freedoms and Rights
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CONTENTS Executive summary............................................................................................................. 7 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction to a crisis: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and international treaties................
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International treaties ........................................................................................................ 10 Regional treaties................................................................................................................ 11 Enforced disappearance in Islamic teachings...................................................................... 12 Enforced disappearance and its relation with the ruling regime in Saudi Arabia:................ 13 Enforced disappearances in international conventions binding to Saudi Arabia.................. 14 First: Signing treaties ........................................................................................................ 14 Second: Saudi Arabia’s duties............................................................................................. 15 The necessity to compensate persons subjected to forced disappearance.......................... 15 Cases of emergencies and anti-terrorism........................................................................... Third: Cases of enforced disappearance in Saudi Arabia..................................................... Cases of enforced disappearances and arrest following the bombings of Al-Anoud and AlQudaih.............................................................................................................................. Major cases of arrest and enforced disappearance during the past two years................... Conclusion and recommendations...................................................................................
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Executive Summary Despite the difficulties and challenges facing the process of highlighting cases of human rights in Saudi Arabia, such as the scarcity of resources, and the fear of victims of talking to media, the International Coalition for Freedoms and Rights (ICFR) has been, and is still trying vigorously, and in an objective and professional manner, to highlight cases of violations of human rights which are taking place in Saudi Arabia. This ICFR report is the result of continuous efforts aimed at forming a clear view of the true and painful state of the crime of enforced disappearance, widely committed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This report comes with examples of cases that happened during the end of 2014 and the year 2015. The report does not just aim to uncover the crime of enforced disappearance, but also show the extent of its relation with the movements of Saudi security forces and how they deal with it. The information presented in this report has been inferred by ICFR from international and local laws, and from prominent cases that human rights organisations concerned with Saudi Arabia have worked on. The report also discusses the human rights treaties and covenants which Saudi Arabia has signed, and is legally bound to. The report also discusses the extent to which Saudi Arabia is committed to the international treaties and covenants that it hasn’t signed, being part of the international community and bound to the fundamental principles and measures that are indispensable for its prevalence in this community. The report also briefly discusses the view of Islamic Shari’ah on using enforced disappearance by security forces against its citizens, and the sanctions established in Islamic laws regarding this matter, before elaborating on the laws and ruling regimes governing the legal conditions in the Kingdom. The report also describes, with examples, a number of the most prominent cases of people who were subjected to enforced disappearance by Saudi security authorities. ICFR hopes that this report will raise awareness of all those concerned with human rights in official institutions regarding the adherence to the regulations of dealing with citizens and residents, and how to deal with violations being committed, especially regarding the procedures of summoning, investigations, arrests, and eradicating the crime of enforced disappearance and prosecuting its perpetrators.
 
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Introduction There is no doubt that the phenomenon of enforced disappearance constitutes a violation of human rights, such as the right to life, freedom, personal security, security of one’s person from torture and a fair trial in the court of justice, all of which are rights stated in international covenants of human rights, as well as Islamic laws on which the ruling system in Saudi Arabia is allegedly based. According to what was stated in the “Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance”: practicing enforced disappearance in a regulated manner represents a crime against humanity.1 Saudi Arabia has seen this phenomenon with the beginning of the 2011 Arab Spring events, when people were arrested and placed in detention centres for prolonged periods without notifying their families regarding their fate, whereabouts, or whether they were alive or not. Although this phenomenon has somewhat receded for the time being, enforced disappearance is a continuous violation, especially under the loose laws of anti-terrorism in Saudi Arabia, and under the protection given to different security forces; which facilitate committing this crime, since the arrest takes place outside the rule of law by one of the security divisions, without knowing the place of the arrest or it reasons, and without informing the family of the person who was subjected to enforced disappearance which security force they need to inquire at about the detainee. Even when news is leaked about the location of the prisoner, the family’s efforts in asking about him will go in vain, because denial is the only answer they receive. Additionally, with the exacerbated control of the Saudi security forces and its interference in all matters related to citizens’ daily lives, the families of the detainee are abused and humiliated while taking legal steps to uncover their beloved’s fate. The “forcibly disappeared” person stays in the disappeared state for days and months without their fate being uncovered, causing continuous suffering to the family of the victim, and causing the family to use abnormal methods, along with family and tribal connections, to know the whereabouts of the victim in return of paying certain amounts of money. As for the person forcibly disappeared, they could be subjected to all sorts of physical and moral torture while being detained, not to mention the depravation from their arrest rights which should have been provided, according to international measures of prisoners’ rights. There are also many cases where the fate of the person who was forcibly disappeared is not known for years, and it is probable that he was executed outside the rule of law.
1 Refer to the report of The Arab Orient Center for Strategic and Civilization Studies http://www.asharqalarabi.org.uk/center/ takarir-i5.htm , last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015
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Introduction to a crisis: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and international treaties The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bases its definition of the human rights concept on the principles of Islamic laws, which is why it didn’t ratify three of the most important treaties to protect human rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It is worth mentioning that the Saudi government has taken the first step in the right direction towards protecting human rights and that is by founding The National Society for Human Rights in 20042, and issued a special regulation for it. However, the Saudi government is still receiving criticism for oppressing religious and ethnic minorities, political detainees and women. Islamic law calls for the respect of human rights in life, justice, equality, the rule of law and other principles. Article 26 of the Law of Saudi Arabia states that the state is required to abide to protecting these rights and applying them, since the article states that: “the state protects human rights according to Islamic laws”.3
2 To know more about the laws of Saudi Arabia please visit http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/saudiarabia/Other_ materials.html, last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015 3 Refer to http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/arab/Saudi_Con.html, last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015
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International treaties The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joined four out of seven main United Nations human rights treaties: the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (1997); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (2000); the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (1997); and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (1996)4. It also joined five of the eight International Labour Organisation’s treaties concerned with human rights: Two conventions (29 and 105) on Forced or Compulsory Labour (1978); and the two conventions (100 and 111): Equal Remuneration Convention; and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (1978); and the Convention (182) on the Prevention of the Use of Children and Minors “(2001).5 But it had reservations on some of the conditions of the treaties which it joined as follows: - Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: general reservation on conditions that contradict with Islamic rulings, in addition to Article 22 regarding the agreement of all concerned parties on referring any dispute to the International Court of Justice to rule the dispute.
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- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: general reservations on committing to regulations contradicting with Islamic rulings, in addition to reservation on Article (9/2) regarding the equality between parents concerning the nationality of children, according to the rulings of Islam. It also had reservations on Article (29 /1) regarding referring disputes between participating countries about the interpretations or application of the convention to the International Court of Justice; considering itself unobligated to what has been stated in that clause.7 - Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment: it has reservations on Article 20, where it didn’t acknowledge the jurisdictions of the Committee against Torture and article (30-1) where it didn’t bind itself to what is stated in it.8
4 Refer to http://www.arabhumanrights.org/countries/country.aspx?cid=16, last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015 5 Same reference 6 Same reference 7 Same reference 8 Same reference
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Regional treaties On a regional level, Saudi Arabia joined the “Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam” which was issued in the Islamic Foreign Ministers Conference in 1990, although the document was meant for guidance only and did not require ratification. Saudi Arabia also joined the Arab Charter on Human Rights which was adopted by the Arab Summit in Tunisia in 2004, but like most countries, it has yet to ratify it.9
9 Same reference
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Enforced disappearance in Islamic teachings There is no doubt that the crime of enforced disappearance is not allowed in Islam because it contradicts its general rules of peace and security. Islamic teachings have explained that kidnappers are to be punished as bandits as mentioned in the Qur’an, hence the Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia issued its decision no. 85 on 11/11/1401 Hijri, which states: “The council has looked into what was mentioned by scholars about Islamic teachings about the need to protect the “five necessities”, and the need to look after reasons that keep them safe, and they are: religion, soul, honour, mind, and money. The committee appreciates the great dangers that arise from crimes violating the sanctuaries of Muslims, whether in their souls, or honour or money, and the threat that this causes to public security in the country, and that God has safeguarded people’s religion, bodies, souls , honour and minds with his laws on punishments that insure private and public security, and that applying the verse of banditry and what it rules against bandits should ensure security and reassurance, and prevent those who think about committing crimes and attacking Muslims from doing so, for God said: “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment,”10 Moreover, based on what is mentioned in traditions, the council decided the following: Crimes of kidnapping and burglary that violate Muslims’ sanctuaries arrogantly and publicly are considered a form of banditry and deserve the punishment which is mentioned in the Qur’an, whether the crime was against souls, money, or honour, or caused fear and banditry, and it doesn’t make a difference whether this was in cities or villages or deserts, as seen by most scholars – may God’s mercy be upon them-…etc.11
10 Al Mai’dah: 33 11 Refer to the Decision of The Council of Senior Scholars No. 85 dated the 11/11/1401
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Enforced disappearance and its relation with the ruling regime in Saudi Arabia Although the articles concerning the report of freedoms and rights in the Saudi Arabian ruling regime that was released in 1992 are not clear in many cases, these few and sometimes vague articles are enough to show its respect to human rights, for the Saudi Ruling System stated in article 26 that: “the state is required to protect human rights according to Islamic teachings.” Article 36 also states that: “the state is required to provide security to all citizens and residents in its territories and it is not allowed to restrain someone’s actions or arrest or imprison them unless it is under the provisions of the law.” The Law of Criminal Procedure states in article 4 that: “Any accused person shall have the right to seek the assistance of a lawyer or a representative to defend him during the investigation and trial stages.” Article 69 also states that: “The accused, the victim, the claimant in respect of the private right of action, and their respective representatives or attorneys may attend all the investigation proceedings”. However this does not apply at all to detainees in the General Intelligence prison. Article 84 states that: “The investigator may not seize any piece of paper or document that has been delivered by the accused to his representative or attorney in connection with the performance of the service entrusted to him, nor the correspondence exchanged between them in the case.” However, officials in the prisons of General Intelligence photocopy all documents exchanged between the lawyer and defendant when they meet, which is a violation of human rights from one side and breaks the Saudi law from another. The Law of Criminal Procedure also states in article 119 that: “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 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.” These articles thus do not conform with arrests outside the rule of the law, and withholding of the right to litigate the detainee, and submitting them to isolation, physical and moral torture, and depriving the detainee from communicating with his family and informing him of his fate.
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Enforced disappearances in international conventions binding to Saudi Arabia First: Signing treaties Saudi Arabia is considered one of the few countries in the world that didn’t ratify major treaties concerned with human rights, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its equivalent covenant regarding economic, social and cultural rights. It also did not join the group of countries taking part in the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. Many of the articles of the two covenants and their rules are taken from The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, which has since had an almost universal consensus and became with time a part of the customary international law; making it binding upon all countries. Despite the state’s right to the reservation to accept some international treaties concerned with human rights as Saudi Arabia did, it is still bound to international measures of protecting human rights because it is part of the Charter of the United Nations, and because it is part of legislative international treaties representing international measures of protecting human rights. A state’s commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and international treaties for human rights is legally binding and applicable once the constitutional requirements are fulfilled for the ratification of the treaty according to article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in 1946, which states that “Every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith.” Based on that, and as soon as the constitutional requirements are fulfilled for the ratification of an international treaty, the treaty will have the power of the local law, and the state’s institutions are bound to what is provisioned in the international treaty as a part of the internal law. Although more than eight years have passed on the signature, ratification and accession to the (International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances) and since Saudi Arabia took a seat among the 47 elected members of the Human Rights Council for the period 2014-2016, it is still an unresponsive member to the treaty. Hence, even if Saudi Arabia didn’t sign or ratify the international treaties concerning the crime of enforced disappearance, it is still bound to respect and apply them.
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Second: Saudi Arabia’s duties The third article of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances 12 states that: “Each State shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent and terminate acts of enforced disappearance in any territory under its jurisdiction.” Article six also states that: 1. No order or instruction of any public authority, civilian, military or other, may be invoked to justify an enforced disappearance. Any person receiving such an order or instruction shall have the right and duty not to obey it. 2. Each State shall ensure that orders or instructions directing, authorising or encouraging any enforced disappearance are prohibited. 3. Training of law enforcement officials shall emphasise the provisions in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present article.
The necessity to compensate persons subjected to forced disappearance Article 9, clause 5, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that: “Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.”13 Article 19 of The Declaration on the Protection of Persons from Enforced Disappearance14 states that: “The victims of acts of enforced disappearance and their family shall obtain redress and shall have the right to adequate compensation, including the means for as complete rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of enforced disappearance, their dependents shall also be entitled to compensation.”
12 Refer to the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/arab/ b053.html, last visit to the link was on the 14th of June, 2015 13 Refer to The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/arab/b003.html , the Last visit of the link was on the 14th of June,2015 14 Refer to Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/arab/ b053.html , last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015
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Cases of Emergencies and anti-terrorism Article 7 of the same declaration on Enforced Disapeearance15 states that: “No circumstances whatsoever, whether a threat of war, a state of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked to justify enforced disappearances.”
Third: Cases of enforced disappearance in Saudi Arabia It became very hard to practically count the cases of enforced disappearances in Saudi Arabia because families of the victims do not step forward with judicial complaints reporting the disappearance of their family members for the reasons we have previously mentioned, in addition to the lack of an official record that would at least count these cases. At the same time, families of the victims of enforced disappearance do not turn to human rights organisations because of the rarity of these organisations and the opposition of the Saudi regime to them. Furthermore, the Saudi community is new to human rights and lack experience in them and is not used to dealing with unofficial institutions due to the prevailing security conditions.
Cases of enforced disappearances and arrest following the bombings of Al-Anoud and Al-Qudaih ICFR along with various other organisations have monitored prominent cases of enforced disappearances. The most prominent among them during the past two years are the cases of arrests that took place in police stations after the bombings of Al-Anoud and Al-Qudaih16 in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia in May, 2015, where cases of arbitrary arrests were recorded in many regions and cities in Saudi Arabia, followed by enforced disappearances of more than 40 Saudi citizens17. The coalition has categorised those who were arrested and subjected to enforced disappearance for different periods of time – according to information it received – as follows: First: People arrested in Riyadh city pending investigations in the bombings of Al-Anoud and Al-Qudaih 1. Tameem Abdul Kareem , 19 years, Riyadh 2. Hesham Al-Mousa, 18 years, Riyadh 3. Abul-Aziz AL-Rbeesh, 18 years, Riyadh 4. Abdulrahman Abdullah AL-Makaty, 16 years, Riyadh 15 Refer to the previous reference 16 Refer to Aljazeera website, http://goo.gl/1M47nT Hov .dhvm, last visit of the link was on the 14th of June, 2015 17 These names were published on social media websites, refer to the “Almonaseroon” social media page on Twitter , https:// twitter.com/almonaseron, last visit to the page was on the 14th of June, 2015
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5. Abdul-Aziz Abdullah Al-Hazany, 17 years , Riyadh 6. Mohamed Saad Al-Kahtany, 16 years, Riyadh 7. Abdul-Aziz Omar Al-Omar, 16 years , Riyadh 8. Abdullah Abdulrahman AL-Sahly, 16 years, Riyadh 9. Abdul-Aziz Mohamed Al-Seheim, 15 years, Riyadh 10. Hamad Khaled AL-Brahim, 15 years, Riyadh 11. Ayman Mohamed Al-Rashed, 16 years, Riyadh 12. Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Aziz Al-Hamdan, 17 years, Riyadh 13. Othman AL-Khudairy, 30 years, Riyadh 14. Omar Al-Dakheel, 21 years, Riyadh 15. Ibrahim Hamad AL-Haidary, 20 years, Riyadh 16. Mohamed Abdullah AL-Shahry, 17 years, Riyadh 17. Moathe Nasser AL-Thakeel, 23 years, Riyadh 18. Abdul-Aziz Tarek Al-Ghannam, 18 years, Riyadh 19. Mohamed Eid Al-Sheibany, 16 years, Riyadh 20. Sultan Ali Al-Eteify, 26 years, Riyadh 21. Abdullah Turki Al-Dalbahi, 29 years, Riyadh 22. Abdul-Aziz Abdullah Al-Zaidi, 16 years, Riyadh 23. Abdulrahman Abdullah Al-Sbei’ei, 17 years, Riyadh Second: Detainees in Ta’if city pending investigations in the bombings of Al-Anoud and Al-Qudaih 24. Nasser Abdullah Al-Harby, 24 years ex-detainee, Ta’if 25. Otbah Mohamed Ma’took Al-Kurashi, 22 years, Ta’if 26. Zuhair Al-Fa’ar Al-Shareef, 34 years, Ta’if Third: Detainees in Al Zulfi city pending investigations in the bombings of Al-Anoud and Al-Qudaih 27. Moathe Abdul-Aziz Al-Daoud, 29 years, Al Zulfi 28. Abdullah Ahmad Al-Hamdan, 23 years, Al Zulfi 29. Mohamed Khaled Al-Kash’ami, 23 years, Al Zulfi 30. Abdul-Aziz Mohamed Al-Dweish, 32 years, Al Zulfi 31. Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Mas’ood, 49 years, Al Zulfi
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Fourth: Detainees in Buraidah city pending investigations in the bombings of Al-Anoud and Al-Qudaih 32. Abdulrahman Mohamed Al-Sudeiry, 17 years, Buraidah 33. Abdullah Abdul-Aziz Al-Sa’wi, 16 years, Buraidah 34. Abdul-Salam Saleh Al-Mhawesh, 28 years, Buraidah 35. Saleh Nasser Al-Mas’oud, 16 years, Buraidah 36. Abdul-Hakeem Saleh Al-Sweid, 16 years, Buraidah Fifth: Detainees from different areas pending investigations in the bombings of Al-Anoud and Al-Qudaih 37. Shaher Salem Al-blewi, 27 years, Al Wajh 38. Fawwaz Ali Ba’adwah, 29 years, Jeddah 39. Waleed Kandesh Al-Se’eiri, 18 years, Sharurah 40. Yasser Faisal Al-Oweidah, 23 years, Al Jawf 41. Moathe Al-Dar’an, 23 years, Al Jawf ICFR explains that arresting and detaining suspects as terrorists – and the investigation and treatment following that – represents a violation of various human rights and fundamental freedoms, which is what happened, and there is no doubt that the most dangerous form of human rights and freedoms violation is what includes anti-terrorism operations and the use of enforced disappearance as a tool to pressure detainees to give confessions.
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Major cases of arrest and enforced disappearance during the past two years Some of the major cases of enforced disappearance violations reported by ICFR during the past two years include: 1. Saudi detainee Abdul-Aziz Al-Suneidi, who was subjected to enforced disappearance, since his family couldn’t get full information about the circumstances of his arrest and detention for four months. The activist Al-Suneidi was arrested after defending the cases of political detainees in Saudi Arabia, among them were members of the known civil and political rights organisation “Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association”, and authorities keep prosecuting them after issuing several orders of imprisonment against its member Mohamed Al-Bajadi in the beginning of last March along with many others of its leaders, such as Abdul-Aziz Al-Shubeili, whose trial is still in process after a series of continuances. Activists close to Al-Suneidi confirmed that he started a hunger strike to protest authorities denying him the assistance of a lawyer. Al-Suneidi was arrested because of tweets on his twitter account, where he criticised the operations of oppression and arrests against reform activists, and demanded an end to restrictions and the start a new reform process. Al-Suneidi was known for his continuous attendance of the trials of members of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, and his formal page on Facebook presented a beacon for demands of freedom and reform, in addition to criticism of the arrests and the policy of prosecuting activists in Saudi Arabia.18 2. Saudi Activist Majed Al-Asmari was subjected to enforced disappearance on the 3rd of March, 2015. Al-Asmari was arrested after attending a match between Ra’ed and Ittihad football teams in Jeddah, where he held a sign demanding reform, and announced during the game his refusal of bombing Muslim cities, expressing his support for a campaign organised by activists on social media websites supporting cases of detainees in the prisons of the kingdom.19 3. Detainee Moathe Obeid Allah Al-Harbi was subjected to enforced disappearance after he was arrested by General Intelligence in Buraidah, Al-Qassim region in Saudi Arabia last March, 2015, and is still detained until this moment without charges against him. Communication between him and his family was lost a week after his arrest. 18 Refer to the International Coalition for Freedoms and Rights, http://www.icfr.info/ar/6702, last visit to the website was on the 14th of June, 2015 19 Refer to the International Coalition for Freedoms and Rights, http://www.icfr.info/ar/7140, last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015
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Al-Harbi is a young man in his twenties whose home was raided in Buraidah city by Saudi General Intelligence during an escalating campaign of arrests launched by security forces without a warrant for his arrest. News of his fate stopped a week following his arrest, after his family was able to reach the General Intelligence and demanded that they don’t break the laws concerned with detainees (those that bind security forces with charging the detainee and investigating them, reaching a decision regarding their case within 48 hours). Al-Harbi’s family showed its concern that he would get tortured in attempts to take a forced confession and held authorities liable for his safety, demanding his immediate release for the absence of a legal cause to continue detaining him and subjecting him to enforced disappearance for weeks.20 4. The Islamic scholar, Mohamed Al-Oraifi, was subjected to enforced disappearance after his arbitrary arrest by Saudi authorities on account of his tweets on his personal account on Twitter, criticising the poor organisation of the facilities provided by Saudi authorities to the pilgrims. Until the time of publication, the location of Al-Oraifi’s detention is unknown and no-one, not even his family or lawyer, is able to communicate with him or know his whereabouts, while authorities have not disclosed the real reason of his arrest. Despite the growing rumours that he was released, his brother denied his release until he appeared and was released in December, 2014, two months following his detention.21 5. Mofeed Mahfouth Al Elewi was subjected to enforced disappearance after his arrest by Saudi authorities, after he received a call from someone claiming his desire to purchase medical products from the company that Mofeed works at. They agreed to meet that same day and as soon as Mofeed arrived to the specified location, his car was surrounded at gun point and was placed in a General Intelligence car. They headed to his home, where his room was searched and then he was taken to an unknown location. When his family asked about him at the General Intelligence, the latter denied having him, but after the family insisted on knowing his location and after a full day had passed since his arrest, they were told that he was in the General Intelligence prison where he was kept away from the outside world for more than four months without being allowed visits, or the reasons of his arrest disclosed.22 6. Sixteen-year old Abdulrahman Al-Mdeifer was subjected to enforced disappearance after his arrest by Saudi authorities. The 16 year old was held in a solitary cell in the notorious, Al-Ha’ir prison, located in the capital Riyadh (despite regulations of holding juveniles in social observation homes, which declared that the place of detaining children is social observation homes), where he was 20 Refer to the International Coalition for Freedoms and Rights, , http://www.icfr.info/ar/7140, last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015 21 Refer to the link http://akhbaar24.argaam.com/article/detail/194918, last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015 22 Refer to the website of The Saudi European Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), http://www.esohr.org/?p=782, last visit to the link was on the 14th of June, 2015
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detained for a long and harsh four months, in isolation, with the allowance of only two phone calls in four months. Investigations started with him one month following his arrest and he wasn’t given the chance to obtain a lawyer. He was charged, in the investigation held by investigators from the General Intelligence, with supporting jihad and participating in online jihadi groups. He was never brought to court or charged by the concerned investigating authority, which is the Investigation and Public Prosecution Authority. 23 7. Human rights activist Mohamed Al-Bajadi was subjected to enforced disappearance for almost a year and his fate was not known during that period, which led his mother at the time to send out calls on YouTube to know his whereabouts.24 No news came out from Al-Ha’ir prison about him since the 19th of September, 2012. His family didn’t receive any calls from him and he wasn’t allowed any visits. Concerns were raised after authorities refused to allow his lawyer to get in touch with him. Lawyer Fozan Al-Harbi had tried in July 2013 to deliver a written request to the Saudi general prosecutor requesting permission to visit his client. However, the general prosecutor refused to receive the request. The same happened on the 24th of March 2013 when Al-Harbi sent a request to the administration of Al-Ha’ir prison asking to meet his client. He has not received an answer to his request until now. Al-Bajadi was sentences in April, 2013 to four years of prison, and was banned from travelling for five years after the completion of his prison sentence, in a trial that lacked the guarantees of a fair trial and after the court charged him with “participating in founding a human rights association “Hasm”, distorting the image of the state in media, challenging the independence of the judiciary system, calling on families of political detainees to go on protests and strikes and the possession of banned books”.25 8. Human rights activist Saleh Ashwan Al-Ashwan, the supporting member of The Saudi Association of Political and Civil Rights (Hasm), was subjected to enforced disappearance after his arrest by security authorities while leaving a mosque on the dawn of Saturday July 7, 2012. They took him to his home without a warrant and ordered him to open the door of his house; police officers entered the house without notifying his family and searched the house, confiscated all computers and mobile phones in the house, including the maid’s phone, took him to an unknown location in a state of enforced disappearance, then denied disclosing the place of his detention or investigation. Saleh Al-Ashwan was subjected to physical and psychological torture at the beginning of his detention. He was also deprived of his rights with the knowledge and cooperation of the Saudi 23 Refer to the website of The Saudi European Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), http://www.esohr.org/?p=785, last visit was on the 14th of June, 2015 24 Refer to the BBC website, http://www.bbc.com/arabic/inthepress/2013/06/130609_press_saudi_monday, last visit to the link was on the 15th of June, 2015 25 Refer to The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information statement, http://anhri.net/?p=76115, last visit was on the 15th of June, 2015
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Investigation and Public Prosecution Authority, whose main task is to protect the rights of the defendants and prisoners, for it didn’t conform with the Law of Criminal Procedure at the time of his arrest, nor did it allow him to receive the assistance of a lawyer during the investigation stage. His case was investigated by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department and General Intelligence officers, despite several notifications sent to the office of the Head of the Investigation and Public Prosecution Authority which were ignored and not officially recorded.
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9. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Hamed was subjected to enforced disappearance inside a detention centre after his arrest on April 17, 2015, where he was detained in the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department at Qassim / Buraidah. Since his detention, he has been denied visits and contact with his family. His lawyers referred to the Investigation and Public Prosecution Authority and were informed that the order of his arrest was issued by investigator Othman Ibrahim Saleh Al-Mizyed. The lawyers tried to meet the investigator, the head of the division, or his deputy, but without success. Each time officials at the Investigation and Public Prosecution Authority denied meeting Dr Abdulrahman Al-Hamed’s lawyers. On the night of Wednesday April 30, a call came from one of the detainees, Abdul-Aziz Al-Shubaili, saying that Abdulrahman went on an open food strike and the reason of the strike was his unjustified arrest.27 10. Human rights activist and lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Khair was subjected to enforced disappearance after his arrest while attending a court hearing on the 16th of April, 2014. Abu Al-Khair had entered the hall of the Specialised Criminal Court in Makkah to attend the fifth hearing of his trial. However, when his wife headed to the court, she was told that he was arrested and transferred to Al-Ha’ir prison without knowing what his verdict was and the circumstances of his arrest. No news has been heard of him until today. The Court of Appeal in Makkah ratified a sentence against Waleed Sami Abu Al-Khair on the February 4, 2014, of three months in prison for charges of “showing contempt to the court”. Abu Al-Khair is also being tried in another trial raised against him on the November 4, 2013, on counts of “seeking to disarm the state and disobeying the ruler”, “derogation and insulting the judiciary system”, “antagonising international organisations against the Kingdom”, “founding an unauthorised association and supervising it (Al-Marsad) and participating in founding another (Hasm)”, and “preparing and storing what would disturb the public order”, charges that Al-Marsad says where “previously looked into by the Criminal Court in Jeddah and was sentenced to three months for them. “28 26 Refer to https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/acpra/e0YlUue_V5w/YevwjPriIpIJ, last visit to the link was on the 15th of June, 2015 27 Refer to https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/acpra/D_n01DQTp-Y, last visit was on the 15th of June, 2015 28 Refer to http://goo.gl/VQ1VHb Hov .dhvm , last visit to the link was on the 15th of June, 2015
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Conclusion and recommendations This report shows clearly that the phenomenon of enforced disappearance in Saudi Arabia is becoming an organised violation, which makes it, according to The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced disappearances, a crime against humanity committed against Saudi civilians or foreign residents in the country. This is with the protection of the lack of Saudi criminal legislations and encouraged by the placement of security forces in place of judiciary systems in prosecution on Saudi lands, in addition to ignoring Saudi laws and not committing to international treaties, especially those ratified, hence becoming an inseparable part of its laws. A person’s feeling of the safety of his person and his freedom is one of the most basic and important rights, and it is unacceptable for these practices to continue until this day in Saudi Arabia without supervision or accountability. Based on the above, ICFR sees that it is necessary to take the following steps as soon as possible to put an end to this violation of human rights in Saudi Arabia: 1. Investigating cases of enforced disappearances of detainees or imprisoned Saudi civilians or foreigners in particular. 2. Preparing lists of the names of detainees to enable their families and lawyers of looking into these lists at any time, and locating the whereabouts of their detention and the charges pressed against them. 3. Revealing the names of people who died during enforced disappearance and finalising their legal status. 4. Defining the locations of detention so that they are put under the required legal supervision and stopping detentions in branches of security forces that are hard to record and are not under supervision. 5. Holding any security force involved in enforced disappearance operations accountable. 6. Filing lawsuits for compensations to those who were subjected to enforced disappearance or compensations to their families in case the fate of their family members is not known.