Saudi Arabia executes 4 prisoners for the charges of demonstrating after torture, unfair trial and without serious crimes charged

On July 11, 2017, Saudi Arabia executed four detainees: Amjad al-Moaibad, Yusuf al-Mushayyas, Zaher al-Basri and Mahdi al-Sayegh. The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights confirms that their execution a flagrant violation of international and domestic laws and included many abuses and violations. In addition it didn’t include serious consideration for the “right to life” which is provided for in article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that ” Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person”. By observing and monitoring the trial for two of them, the organization lacked fair trial conditions at all stages, from the arrest to interrogation to trial, sentencing and execution.

  In addition, the execution of the four detainees is in contravention of the Convention against Torture which Saudi Arabia acceded in September 1997, which prohibits the use of charges extracted through torture: “Each State Party shall ensure that any statements made as evidence of torture Procedures “, article 14.

In the case of Yousef al-Miqasil, he was beaten with bamboo and electric wires all over his body. He was also handcuffed and laid down on the ground and beaten by four of the assailants until he was bleeding. In addition, he was subjected to insults and obscenities, insulting and insulting religious beliefs, and being held in solitary confinement for more than three months accompanied by denial of family visits. The torture lefted traces on his body. He confirmed to the judge that he was forced to sign confessions by the interrogator under torture. However, the judge only had only looked to a medical report from a government hospital inside al-Mabahith prison that denied being tortured.

Amjad al-Moaibed, on his first visit after leaving the solitary cell, his family noticed an observer decrease in weight, with some signs of torture on his body, as a result of severe beatings and electric shocks.

As for Zaher al-Basri, he was arrested on 20 June 2013, when he was admitted to the operating room for surgery on his leg. He was prevented from treatment and remained in solitary confinement for 14 days during which he was tortured and beaten, including beatings on his injured leg, in order to extract confessions from him. He was prevented from communicating with his family for a year.

The Interior Ministry released a statement after the execution. It was opened by Koranic verses and talk of murder and killing, saying they had shed blood, while the official charges against them did not involve any murder. Some official and widespread media have also argued that murder was a “Qisas,” which meant that killing them was a similar punishment for killing others, while that didn’t happen.

According to a part of the availability of the organization from the list of official charges relating to Amjad al-Moaiad, his statements in the investigation were as follows:

1. Participate in many of the riotous gatherings in Qatif and Tarot and chanting: “We are with you the mother of the detainee, the humiliation of humiliation, the forgotten prisoners are not terrorists” and els.

2. Carrying banners in the demonstrations demanding the release of prisoners, shouting slogans and insulting statements to the state, and other demonstrations in which the flag of Bahrain was raised.

3. His acknowledgment that after the news of the killing of Naji al-Muhaishi and Ali al-Felfel by the forces became involved in the demonstrations masked people.

4. Carry a loudspeaker during demonstrations.

5. Participated in seven gatherings of rioters in the neighborhood of Shwaikeh in the province of Qatif was demanding his comrades to get out of the state and state governors.

6. Participate in the funeral of those who were killed during clashes with security men.

The case of Youssief al-Mshekhies, and according to the charges and statements in the judgment instrument, he was charged with 11 counts as follows:

1. shooting with others on an armored vehicle belonging to the emergency forces in Awamiyah.

2. Shooting at al-Awamiya Police Station twice, in which two security officers were injured.

3. Shooting on a security men that was trying to arrest Abbas al-mezraa from his home.

4. Assisting him in the shelter and treatment of Morsi Al-Rabah after he was injured in confrontations with the emergency forces.

5. Possession of a Kalashnikov without a license and with the intention of corruption and breach of security.

6. Spying on the Emergency forces.

7. partnering with others by creating a group in a Zollo program to communicate and coordinate their terrorist acts.

8. His participation in the rioters’ gatherings in Awamiyah.

9. Covering security wanted persons and their places of residence and gatherings.

10. Covering the financial support of members of his terrorist gang.

11. Covering criminals who smuggle alcohol, trade in alcohol and weapons, and cover up the knowledge that some of them intend to commit crimes of attacks and assassinations among themselves.

On the issue of the convicted Zahir al-Basri, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry, he was accused of participating in rallies, obstructing the work of the security authorities by covering up about wanted persons, armed exiting the guard, firing at a police station and security patrols, And throwing Molotov cocktails.

Also, the statement indicate that Mehdi Sayegh faced charges including participating in marches, seeking to destabilize security, throwing Molotov cocktails and participating in the sale and purchase of weapons and drug abuse.

These investigations were carried out in al-mabahith prison and by interrogators from the detective, where the methods of torture and coercion are common. The Saudi regulations, according to Article 3 of the Public Prosecution System, state that the investigation is solely within the jurisdiction of the Public Prosecution. : A. The investigation of the crimes “, which means that the investigations were conducted through a party that is not systematically competent, and in addition, it has practiced many abuses and torture.

The official statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior did not mention the specific reason. It included several charges, some of which related to the demonstrations, some related to the use of weapons, and between them, without specifying directly the charge of execution. According to international law, in respect of States that still carry out executions, it is permitted only in “serious crimes” or “the most serious crimes”. According to the definition, the most serious crimes are those that lead directly and intentionally to death, as defined in a United Nations report, paragraph 23. Given the crimes attributed to the four, none of them included a charge consistent with the definition of the most serious crimes. But Saudi Arabia violated what it said at the Human Rights Council in October 2013: “The death penalty is only issued for the most serious crimes”, paragraph 14 “Outcome of the review – Addendum 1” of its second periodic report.

The execution of the four young men was also completely ignored all of their grievances in front of the court, as well as speeches raised in some cases to many internal actors, such as letters addressed to King Salman, former Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef, former Attorney General Muhammad Al-Abdullah Al-Arini, Saudi Arabia’s official human rights organization, which confirmed numerous abuses and torture. In addition to torture, the Saudi government has applied an approach to preventing at least two of the four cases, from reaching out to lawyers in the stages of arrest and investigation until the trials began , which lacked the principles of transparency and openness.

The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights confirms that the death sentences carried out against the four young men resulted in flagrant violation of international laws as well as many local laws. It also indicates that the current period of government is not different from the previous period, which concerns freedom of expression and the right to life, as well as some that may not be declared as reform or development in the judiciary or in the affairs of the justice system, such as the announcement on 17 June 2017 of the amendment of the name of the Commission of Investigation and Prosecution to the Public Prosecution Concrete on the system Function. The king’s order issued in respect of this amendment included recognition of the lack of complete independence in the work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. He explained that one of the aims of the amendment was to grant the prosecution “complete independence in the exercise of duties.” However, the execution of the 4 individuals happened according to the past system that was not entirely independent as understood by the king.

The organization believes that the mass and secret executions, which were not informed before the implementation of the executions, raises the fears that the Saudi government may execute  more than 50 detainees, according to the organization’s statistics, despite the blatant violations of the trials they have been subjected to, and despite the Saudi King’s insensible statement that sufficient independence existed in the previous prosecution, which at least presupposes the review of cases relating to the plaintiff’s period last year.

The Saudi government’s practices  in the execution cases point that  the Saudi Arabia’s marginalization of justice, and its insistence on an approach that has nothing to do with justice. In addition to its recent behavior, it is classified as continuous psychological torture for the families, by not handing over the bodies of a number of political prisoners or some of them who are killed outside the judicial system in the streets. In addition to its previous practices, the bodies of these four may not be handed over to their family as what happened with at least 14 bodies.

The execution came three days after King Salman said: “The security authorities in the Kingdom are resolutely addressing all those who attack the stability of the homeland and the security of citizens. Anyone who tries to tamper with the security and stability of the Kingdom will held accountable”. Although the authorities don’t case of killing the civilians, whether by extrajudicial killings on the streets or torture in prisons. The implementation of these executions comes after several campaigns of recruitment in the social media, one of which is a member of the ruling family to threaten the punishment and threat, and also emerged after the execution of this death accounts in the means of communication, known among the activists at the local level that it is affiliated to the detective, Other executions, including minors such as Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoun and Abdullah al-Zaher, are nearing execution.

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