Web pages about "Saudi Arabia"

Secret video shows horror of Saudi beheading

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:50:03 +0100

Secretly filmed footage of a man being beheaded in Saudi Arabia has been received by Amnesty International. The organization strongly condemns the execution and calls for the Saudi Arabian government to adhere to the UN moratorium on executions around the world.

The horrific footage shows the condemned man’s public execution. He kneels on a mat while spectators and guards watch. With one strike of the executioner’s sword, his head rolls off and his body collapses in a heap.

Amnesty International has been closely monitoring the prisoner’s case, a Jordanian citizen convicted on drug trafficking related charges; the footage filmed on a mobile phone is consistent with AI’s records.
Executions in Saudi Arabia are generally held in public. Prisoners are usually sentenced to death following inadequate legal representation.

Saudi Arabia continues to execute prisoners despite the UN General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions on 18 December 2007. The beheading is counter to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and comes at a time when there is a clear international trend away from the use of the death penalty.

“As a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Saudi Arabia should take a leading role in implementing the UN moratorium on executions and commute all outstanding death sentences," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“Very few countries currently carry out executions, and it is deplorable that a member state of the Human Rights Council continues to execute people. Trials are grossly unfair with prisoners getting inadequate or no legal representation. Foreign nationals are often not even given adequate interpretation facilities and consequently remain ignorant of the exact nature of the charges against them or the punishment they face.”

The footage is a dire reflection of the extensive use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. In defiance of the world community, in 2007, Saudi Arabia executed at least 143 people, including three women, and children.

Since January 2008 the figure has already reached 53. On Friday 25 April 2008, three more people were put to death in Saudi Arabia. All were convicted of drug related crime, following trials about which very little is known. Amnesty International remains gravely concerned for the lives of a number of prisoners at risk of imminent execution and has issued urgent appeals calling for the commutation of their sentences.

“Amnesty International calls on the Saudi government to cease executions and adopt an immediate moratorium on executions in accordance with the UN resolution,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

Saudi Arabia: Secret video shows horror of beheading

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:59:58 +0100

Amnesty International has received secretly filmed grisly footage of a man being beheaded in Saudi Arabia. The organization strongly condemns the execution and calls for the Saudi Arabian government to adhere to the UN moratorium on executions around the world.

The horrific footage shows the condemned man’s public execution. He kneels on a mat while spectators and guards watch. With one strike of the executioner’s sword, his head rolls off and his body collapses in a heap. Amnesty International has been closely monitoring the prisoner’s case, a Jordanian citizen convicted on drug trafficking related charges; the footage filmed on a mobile phone is consistent with AI’s records.

Executions in Saudi Arabia are generally held in public. Prisoners are usually sentenced to death following inadequate legal representation. Saudi Arabia continues to execute prisoners despite the UN General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions on 18 December 2007. The beheading is counter to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and comes at a time when there is a clear international trend away from the use of the death penalty.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, said: “As a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Saudi Arabia should take a leading role in implementing the UN moratorium on executions and commute all outstanding death sentences.

“Very few countries currently carry out executions, and it is deplorable that a member state of the Human Rights Council continues to execute people. Trials are grossly unfair with prisoners getting inadequate or no legal representation. Foreign nationals are often not even given adequate interpretation facilities and consequently remain ignorant of the exact nature of the charges against them or the punishment they face.”

The footage is a dire reflection of the extensive use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. In defiance of the world community, in 2007, Saudi Arabia executed at least 143 people, including three women, and children. Since January 2008 the figure has already reached 53. This morning (25 April) three more people were put to death in Saudi Arabia. All were convicted of drug related crime, following trials about which very little is known. Amnesty International remains gravely concerned for the lives of a number of prisoners at risk of imminent execution and has issued urgent appeals calling for the commutation of their sentences.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said: “Amnesty International calls on the Saudi government to cease executions and adopt an immediate moratorium on executions in accordance with the UN resolution.”

Note to Editors
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state in the name of justice. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Secrecy surrounds death penalty

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:08:25 +0100

At least 1,200 people were executed in 2007 and many more were killed by the state, in secret, in countries including China, Mongolia and Viet Nam.

The figures come from Amnesty International's yearly statistics, Death Sentences and Executions in 2007, issued on Tuesday, which say that at least 1,252 people were executed in 24 countries and at least 3,347 people were sentenced to death in 51 countries. Up to 27,500 people are estimated to be on death row across the world.

The figures also show an increase in executions in a number of countries. Iran executed at least 317 people, Saudi Arabia 143 and Pakistan 135 – in comparison to 177, 39 and 82 executions respectively in 2006.

Eighty-eight per cent of all known executions took place in five countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the USA. Saudi Arabia had the highest number of executions per capita, followed by Iran and Libya. Amnesty International has been able to confirm at least 470 executions by China – the highest overall figure. However, the organization has said that the true figure for China is undoubtedly much higher.

China, which the report refers to as the world's top executioner, classifies the death penalty as a state secret. As the world and Olympic guests are left guessing, only the Chinese authorities know exactly how many people have been killed with state authorization.

"The secretive use of the death penalty must stop: the veil of secrecy surrounding the death penalty must be lifted. Many governments claim that executions take place with public support. People therefore have a right to know what is being done in their name," said Amnesty International.

During 2007, many countries continued to execute for crimes not commonly considered criminal, or after unfair procedures. Among them:

Ja'Far Kiani, father of two, was stoned to death for adultery in Iran in July.
A 75 year-old North Korean factory manager was shot by firing squad in October for failing to declare his family background, investing his own money in the factory, appointing his children as its managers and making international phone calls.
Mustafa Ibrahim, an Egyptian national, was beheaded in Saudi Arabia in November for the practice of sorcery.
Michael Richard was executed in Texas, USA, on 25 September after a state courthouse refused to stay open an extra 15 minutes to allow the filing of an appeal based on the constitutionality of lethal injections. Richard's attorneys had been unable to file the appeal on time because of computer problems; problems they had already brought to the court's attention. The US Supreme Court then refused to stop the execution. Earlier in the day, however, it had agreed in a Kentucky case to review the lethal injection issue, a decision that led to a de facto moratorium on all other lethal injection executions around the country. The Supreme Court's ruling is expected later this year.

Three countries – Iran, Saudia Arabia and Yemen – carried out executions for crimes committed by people younger than 18 years of age, against international law.

However, 2007 was also the year where there was good news about the death penalty. The United Nations General Assembly voted – by 104 to 54, with 29 abstentions – to end the use of the death penalty.

"The UN General Assembly took the historic decision to call on all countries around the world to stop executing people. That the resolution was adopted in December with such a clear majority shows the global abolition of the death penalty is possible," said Amnesty International.

"The taking of life by the state is one of the most drastic acts a government can undertake. We are urging all governments to follow the commitments made at the UN and abolish the death penalty once and for all."

Breakthrough UN resolution on global moratorium on executions (News, 15 November 2007)
Amnesty International's Death Penalty page

Video: Riz Ahmed reads Poems from Guantánamo

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:41:50 +0000

Riz Ahmed reads Jumah al-Dossari’s poem

"Death Poem" by Jumah al Dossari

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"Take my blood.
Take my death shroud and
The remnants of my body.
Take photographs of my corpse at the grave, lonely.
Send them to the world,
To the judges and
To the people of conscience,
Send them to the principled men and the fair-minded.
And let them bear the guilty burden, before the world,
Of this innocent soul.
Let them bear the burden, before their children and before history,
Of this wasted, sinless soul,
Of this soul which has suffered at the hands of the 'protectors of peace'."

Jumah al-Dossari’s poem is read here by Riz Ahmed, the actor who appeared in the film "Road to Guantánamo". Jumah al-Dossari, who was released in 2007, was held in Guantánamo for more than five years and had been in solitary confinement since the end of 2003. He tried to kill himself more than a dozen times.

This poem was written as part of a suicide letter Jumah al-Dossari left for his lawyer when he had given up hope of ever seeing his family again. He is now in Saudi Arabia completing what the Saudi Arabian authorities refer to as a reform and rehabilitation programme for returned Guantánamo detainees.

Read a transcript of Jumah al-Dossari’s full testimony.

Saudi Arabia: Lawyer must not be punished for defending gang rape victim

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:55:08 +0000

The disciplinary measures against Saudi Arabian lawyer Abdul Rahman al-Lahem must be dropped immediately if they appear have been initiated solely because of his legitimate activities in defending a rape victim who received a sentence of 200 lashes and a prison term, Amnesty International said today.

Abdul Rahman al-Lahem has been summoned to appear before a disciplinary committee on 5 December 2007 for publicly criticising his client’s unfair treatment by the judiciary. After she was initially sentenced in November 2006, he criticised the court’s decision to treat her as an offender rather than a victim and was reported as saying that the case “sums up the major problems that the Saudi Arabian judiciary faces.”

"It is totally unacceptable that Abdul Rahman al-Lahem is facing possible suspension or dismissal from the legal profession simply because of his defence of a young female victim of gang rape," said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "He should be allowed to perform all of his professional duties without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference."

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Justice on 21 November 2007, Abdul Rahman al-Lahem has been accused of “insulting the Supreme Judicial Council and disobeying the rules and regulations” of the judiciary, which could lead to his being suspended or disbarred from the legal profession. Such punishment would amount to a gross violation of international standards protecting the integrity of the legal profession.

Abdul Rahman al-Lahem’s client, known as the al-Qatif Girl, was tried in November 2006 together with a male companion who was accompanying her at the time that she was attacked and gang raped by seven men. She and her male companion were both sentenced to 90 lashes each for a khilwa offence, being alone in the company of a member of the opposite sex who is not a close relative, while the perpetrators of the gang rape were sentenced to flogging and prison terms ranging from one to five years. At appeal, all the sentences were increased. The rape victim’s sentence, and that of her male companion, was increased to 200 lashes and six months in prison, and those who raped her had their prison sentences increased from two to nine years, in addition to flogging.

Amnesty International believes that the criminalisation of khilwa is inconsistent with international human rights standards, in particular, an individual’s right to privacy, and that the case against the girl and her male companion should be declared null and void. The approach taken by the Ministry of Justice suggests that it effectively considers that the young woman brought the rape upon herself by meeting her companion.

The trial court that first heard the case is reported to have called for the withdrawal of Abdul Rahman al-Lahem’s licence to practice law after he criticised its treatment of his client but it is unclear whether this is what led to the disciplinary process that has now been invoked against him.

"These new measures are yet another demonstration of the lack of the independence of the judiciary in Saudi Arabia, a concern which Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed," said Malcolm Smart. "The whole case reflects the inconsistencies of the judicial system, particularly its inbuilt prejudice against women, and could deter other lawyers to defend women victims of rape or other sexual violence."

Background
Amnesty International’s concern that Abdul Rahman al-Lahem may be penalised for carrying out his professional duties as a lawyer is heightened by the nature of the disciplinary process. This is controlled by the Ministry of Justice, assisted by the Public Prosecution, which is currently under the Interior Ministry, and its independence and impartiality is in question.

Under the Code of Law Practice (CLP) of 15 October 2001, the Ministry of Justice controls the legal profession as the statutory authority for issuing licences and disciplining lawyers. Abdul Rahman al-Lahem is reported to have been charged by the Public Prosecutor and will appear before a three member committee set up by the Minister of Justice to hear his case. He is entitled to have the assistance of a defence lawyer. Under the CLP the disciplinary committee’s decision can be appealed before the Board of Grievances, the highest administrative appeal court in the Justice system in Saudi Arabia.

Video: Death penalty stories (animated slideshow)

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:40:37 +0000

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Animated slideshow of stories about the death penalty around the world narrated by Colin Firth.

Juvenile offender beheaded in Saudi Arabia

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:53:37 +0100

A child offender has been beheaded in Saudi Arabia. The execution took place in the city of Taif on 21 July 2007.

Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai'i was sentenced to death for a murder he was accused of committing when he was just 15 years old. He was held in a juvenile facility until his 18th birthday and then moved to an adult prison. Dhahian appealed to the families of the victim to pardon him -- as allowed by Shari'a law -- but the outcome of his appeal is not known.

In May 2007, Amnesty International issued urgent appeals to the government of Saudi Arabia calling for a halt to his execution and urging commutation of the death sentence against him.

Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai'i's beheading is the latest in a recent spate of executions in Saudi Arabia. Since September 2006, at least 143 people have been executed in the Kingdom, which has one of the highest execution rates in the world.

Trial proceedings usually take place behind closed doors without adequate legal representation and invariably fall short of international fair trial standards. Children and adults are often convicted on the basis of "confessions" obtained under duress, including torture or other ill-treatment during incommunicado detention.

Amnesty International is outraged by the beheading of Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai'i and calls on King Abdullah to immediately halt all pending executions and take all necessary steps to stop the imposition of death sentences on juvenile offenders.

Guantánamo: pain and distress for thousands of children

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:00:10 +0000

Thousands of children around the world have suffered pain and distress as a result of US counter-terror policies and practices.

Some have been held in indefinite virtually incommunicado detention without charge or trial. Some have been subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. And many others still at home are tormented by the absence of their fathers, brothers and other relatives who themselves have been subjected to indefinite detention, in many cases for years.

The US authorities are believed to have held at least 17 children at Guantánamo Bay. Four of them, possibly more, remain there. They are Mohammed al-Gharani and Omar Khadr, who were 15 when detained, Hassan bin Attash, aged 17 when taken, and Yousef al-Shehri, aged 16.

"Sometimes I feel like going out to Bush and say ‘What the hell do you think you are doing’? And sometimes I just feel that maybe I should leave it alone".

Zahra Paracha, 14 year-old daughter of Guantánamo detainee Saifullah Paracha

Another detainee, Yassar al-Zahrani, was reportedly 17 when he was detained. He died in Guantánamo in June 2006, after apparently hanging himself.

Only three of the children held in Guantánamo were separated from the adult detainees, though international law requires special protections for under 18 year olds in detention. The others have been detained in the same harsh conditions as adults, including prolonged solitary confinement, isolation from their families and with no access to education.

All those who were taken into custody when still children and transferred to Guantánamo are now over 18 years old. This does not alter the fact that their earlier treatment violated international principles on the treatment of children.

"As with all detainees, these juveniles were considered enemy combatants that posed a threat to US security. Age is not a determining factor in detention." US Department of Defence, January 2004.

Guantánamo is a symbol of injustice. The US government must close it down. All detainees must be released, or charged and given a fair trial.

The Convention of the Rights of the Child

International law recognizes the particular vulnerabilities of children. The Convention of the Rights of the Child, for example, protects children from indefinite detention and ill-treatment.

The USA has signed this treaty and is obliged under international law not to do anything that would undermine its object and purpose. Apart from Somalia, the USA is the only country in the world that has not yet ratified the Convention.