SAUDI ARABIA: ARBITRARY DETENTION OF FIVE SHIAA SAUDI NATIONALS

The International League Against Arbitrary Detention urges the Government of Saudi Arabia to take all the necessary actions to implement the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinion No. 71/2024 concerning Abdullah al-Derazi, Jalal al-Labbad, Yusuf Muhammad Mahdi al-Manasif, Jawad Abdullah Qureiris and Hassan Zaki al-Faraj asking the Government of Saudi Arabia to immediately and unconditionally release them and to accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.

Read the full WGAD Opinion concerning Abdullah al-Derazi, Jalal al-Labbad, Yusuf Muhammad Mahdi al-Manasif, Jawad Abdullah Qureiris and Hassan Zaki al-Faraj (Saudi Arabia): Opinion No. 71/2024.

ARRESTED AND FACING DEATH SENTENCE FOR DEFENDING MINORITY RIGHTS

Five Saudi nationals, Abdullah al-Derazi (born 1995), Jalal al-Labbad (born 1995), Yusuf Muhammad Mahdi al-Manasif (born 1996), Jawad Abdullah Qureiris (born 1997), and Hassan Zaki al-Faraj (born 1997), were involved in protests against the treatment of Shiia minorities in Al-Qatif in Saudi Arabia.

Their activities involved going to protests, attending the funerals of people killed by security forces, and taking a position against government policy. Between 2014 and 2017, they were all violently arrested without being informed of the charges against them. Mr. al-Derazi was arrested in 2014, beaten, and then charged with terrorism-related offences, all related to actions that took place before he was 18 years of age. Mr. al-Labbad, arrested at home at age 19 in 2017, was sentenced to death five years later, in 2022, partly because of the actions he had allegedly committed at 15. Mr. Qureiris, who comes from a prominent dissident family, was tried under a range of laws, including terrorism and cybercrime laws, and given a death sentence in November 2022. In 2017, Mr. al-Faraj was arrested in a raid on his home, accused of attending protests, possessing banned materials, and assisting wanted individuals, and in 2022, he was sentenced to death.They have all been kept in the Dammam prison, and their cases are still ongoing at the Supreme Court. 

On 13 September 2023, Saudi authorities replied to the inquiries sent by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

ARRESTED WITHOUT A WARRANT, DELAYED JUDICIAL REVIEW, AND PROLONGED PRE-TRIAL DETENTION

The source reported that the five individuals were arrested without being informed of the reasons for their detention and only learned of the charges against them at their trials. Even in the intervening period, the Government never issued any arrest warrants nor provided any legal basis for the arrest. 

Moreover, Mr. al-Faraj, Mr. al-Labbad and Mr. al-Derazi were placed in isolation for periods of three to nine months. Their whereabouts were not revealed to their families and they remained in incommunicado detention. Thus, the Working Group found a violation of articles 8 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Furthermore, the source submitted that the individuals were not able to effectively challenge the legality of their detention as it was years before any of them got to appear before a judge. The Working Group found that this unprecedented delay was a breach of article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as article 37(b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Also, although the events in question took place in 2011 and 2012, three of the defendants — Messrs. al-Labbad, Qureiris and al-Faraj — were convicted by the Government of violating the 2014 Penal Law for Crimes of Terrorism and its Financing. The Working Group, in light of the Government’s inadequate response to the source’s argument, found that the retroactive application of the law today violated article 11(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which prohibits the conviction of individuals for acts that were not criminalized at the time they were committed. 

According to the source, the charges were brought under the broad and ambiguous provisions of the 2014 Penal Law for Crimes of Terrorism and its Financing and the Anti-Cybercrime Law. The Working Group repeated that it had previously concluded that the provisions contained within these laws were incompatible with the principle of legality. Hence, the Working Group found that their detention lacked legal basis and violated articles 9 and 11(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

In light of the aforementioned, the Working Group found that the individuals' arrests and detentions all lacked a legal basis, rendering their deprivation of liberty arbitrary under category I.

DEPRIVED OF THEIR RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

According to the source, the five individuals were arrested and charged for peacefully protesting the Government’s treatment of the Muslim Shiite minority and attending the funerals of those killed by State authorities. It also argued that the individuals' non-violent actions did not threaten public order or morality in a democratic society. Even though the Saudi Government rejected these claims on the basis that the individuals committed serious criminal and terrorist acts, the Working Group found that it had not demonstrated how the restriction placed on the individuals’ freedom of expression was justified. Therefore, the Working Group considered that the five men were detained for peacefully protesting against the State’s treatment of the Muslim Shiaa minority,  in violation of articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In that regard, The Working Group came to the conclusion that the individuals’ deprivation of liberty was arbitrary under category II. 

VIOLATIONS OF THEIR FAIR TRIAL RIGHTS

Given its findings under category II, the Working Group found that no trial should have taken place. However, as trials did take place, the Working Group evaluated the source’s submissions regarding the alleged fair trial violations. 

The source stated that the individuals had not had effective access to legal presentation along their detention period, which was in violation of article 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Working Group welcomed this submission as it noted that three of the individuals were held incommunicado for several months and that the Government had not given specific details about the way the detainees accessed legal assistance. It also accepted that the overall fairness of their legal proceedings were tainted by the acts of torture that the individuals were subjected to, notably to obtain their confessions, which was a further contravention of their fair trials rights under article 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In that regard, the Working Group referred their case to the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Furthermore, the source submitted that the five individuals were not tried before an independent and impartial tribunal as they were brought before the Specialized Criminal Court, known for conducting hearings secretly and barring lawyers from entering the courtroom. The Working Group shared this view and found a violation of Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

Ultimately, the Working Group determined that these violations of the individuals’ right to a fair trial and due process were sufficiently serious to render their detention arbitrary under category III.

DETAINED ON THEIR BASIS OF THEIR RELIGION

The source submitted that the five men were targeted because they are part of the Shiaa minority, which the Government denied, saying the arrests were made on criminal basis. It stated that Shiia muslims continue to face discrimination for their beliefs in Saudi Arabia, particularly following ongoing protests since 2011 over their demands for equality. In that light, the Working Group highlighted similar cases of Shiaa detainees in Saudi Arabia indicating that Saudi Arabia systematically discriminates against religious minorities. Considering the above, the Working Group determined that the arrests followed by the death sentences against the five individuals were based on religion, thus constituting a violation of their right to equality and non-discrimination under international law, protected under articles 2 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

On that basis, the Working Group considered that their detention fell within category V.

CONCLUSION OF THE UN WORKING GROUP AGAINST ARBITRARY DETENTION

In light of the foregoing, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that the detention of Abdullah al-Derazi, Jalal al-Labbad, Yusuf Muhammad Mahdi al-Manasif, Jawad Abdullah Qureiris and Hassan Zaki al-Faraj in Saudi Arabia was arbitrary and fell under categories I, II, III, and V because their deprivation of liberty violated articles 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Working Group recommended that the Government of Saudi Arabia takes immediate steps to remedy the situation of these individuals and bring it into conformity with international human rights standards. It concluded that the appropriate remedy would be their immediate release, accompanied by an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.

The Working Group further urged the Government to ensure a full and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding their arbitrary detention and to take appropriate measures in response. Lastly, it called on the Government to amend its laws to align with the recommendations set out in its opinion and recommended it accedes to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.