Case SAU 020508
Arbitrary detention / Corporal punishment / Ill-treatments
Geneva, 2nd May 2008
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Saudi Arabia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source and Antenna International, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture network, about the arbitrary arrest of Dr. Mohammed Ali Abu Razizah, a 60 year-old psychologist and lecturer at the Um Al Qura University in the city of Mekkah, and his subsequent sentencing to flogging.
According to the information received, in early February 2008, Dr. Mohammed Ali Abu Razizah was arrested in Mekkah by agents of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), on the ground of being in an illegal solitude with a woman. Subsequent to his arrest, Dr. Abu Razizah was subjected to various ill-treatments and was beaten by members of the CPVPV for three hours before being handed over to the police.
The CPVPV is an authorised law enforcement religious police in Saudi Arabia, which is empowered to arrest, detain, and interrogate persons for undefined criminal offences. The law that defines the CPVPV's tasks is very vague as it includes "guiding and advising people to observe the religious duties prescribed by Islamic Sharia, to preclude committing acts proscribed and prohibited by Sharia". The law does not contain classification of which acts of commission or omission are criminal, meriting arrest and investigation, and which behaviour falls into the guiding and advising duties of the agency.
On 2nd March 2008, Dr. Mohammed Ali Abu Razizah was sentenced by the First Court in Mekkah province to eight months of imprisonment and to be flogged 150 times on three instalments. During his trial, the judge swiftly charged and sentenced him and only relied on the CPVPV reports and evidence. In addition, Dr. Abu Razizah was not given the opportunity to bring his witnesses before the judge and challenge the evidences presented against him, and the lady who was involved in his case by the CPVPV was not called by the court.
It is to be feared that Dr. Abu Razizah was arrested and sentenced because of his ongoing criticism of the behaviour and tasks of the CPVPV personals. The CPVPV would then allegedly have insulted him and damaged his reputation, before tricking him into meeting a woman.
Moreover, since his arrest, Dr. Abu Razizah has been denied access to his on-going medications, as he suffers from Diabetics. He has also been denied access to his relatives and his lawyer, and was forced to sign papers without being allowed to read or understand them. He was also denied dinging water and from using the toilet by the prison guards.
On 31st March 2008, the Court of Cassation upheld the verdict against Dr. Abu Razizah.
On 1st May 2008, Dr. Abu Razizah's case file was sent to the office of the Mekkah Province Governor for obtaining a permission in order to carry out the sentence of flogging against Dr. Abu Razizah. Indeed, according to the Saudi law, this procedure is needed in order tocarry out this sentence. Once the permission has been obtained, the flogging punishment will be carrying out.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by reports of ill-treatments against Dr. Abu Razizah as well as by his sentencing to flogging, which is considered as a corporal punishment and is as such prohibited by international standards as it violates the absolute prohibition against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
To that extent, OMCT recalls that Saudi Arabia is a State party to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which both prohibit cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In line with their obligations under these treaties, it is incumbent on the Saudis authorities to consider seriously any allegations of torture and ill-treatment made by the victim, and to undertake a thorough investigation in this regard. OMCT also recalls to Saudi Arabia that according to article 9 1) of the ICCPR "no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention".
Requested Action
Please write to the authorities in Saudi Arabia urging them to:
i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Dr. Mohammed Ali Abu Razizah;
ii. Guarantee immediate access to his lawyers, family and any medical assistance he may require;
iii. Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iv. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, notably the allegations of ill-treatments, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to Dr. Mohammed Ali Abu Razizah;
vi. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
- His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, Office of His Majesty the King, Royal Court, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Fax: +966 1 403 1185
- His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Governor of Mekkah al Mukaramah, Office of His Highness the Governor, Fax: +966 2 660 5242
- H.E. Abdulwahab Abdulsalam Attar, Ambassador, Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Route de Lausanne 263, 1292 Chambesy, Switzerland, Email: saudiamission@bluewin.ch, Fax: +4122 758.00.00
- Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Brussels, 45 avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 647.24.92, Email: beemb@mofa.gov.sa
Please also write to the embassies of Saudi Arabia in your respective country.
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Geneva, 2nd May 2008
