After Torture and Delay the Lawyer, the Saudi Judiciary
Sentenced (AlUtal) to Death
European Society for
Human Rights Saudi Arabia
23/06/2014
 |
| Ali Abdullah AlUtal |
Due
to systematic practiced of torture in the Saudi intelligence’s prisons of
prisoners of conscience; demonstrators and others, this has given the authority
an opportunity to charge a number of them with false accusations.
Based
on continuous observation by the European Saudi Society for Human Rights
(ESSHR), it seems that detainees have poor possibility of proving their
innocence due to the continual violations of legal procedures as:
1.
Arbitrary
arrest and detention, which mostly done with no prior arrest warrant and done
in various ways.
2.
Incommunicado detention for long period of
time, more than a year in some cases.
3.
Various
torture methods, physical and psychological, where many detainees still suffer
symptoms.
4.
Forbidding
from the right to counsel, only in late legal procedures. Still, in some cases
where the public prosecution demanded death, detainees were denied the right to
counsel.
5.
Quite
a lot of secret trials, or partly, far from the international standards and
norms.
All
these factors have granted the public prosecution, as in many cases, to claim
false accusations and even to accuse them with charges that are not even considered
to be crimes. As a result, the judges have been issuing harsh, unfair sentences
to the point of death penalty.
On
15/02/2012, Ali Abdullah AlUtal was arrested while he was casually riding
motorcycles with his friends. A police car started to chase until it crashed
into one of the motorcycle but the rider escaped. Then, he was caught while he
was trying to get his motorcycle back, then police start asking him about his
friends where AlUtal is among them.
Once
AlUtal knew about this, and with a good intentions, he voluntarily decided to
go the police station to clear up any misunderstanding about his situation and he
was just casually riding motorcycles with his friends and has no connection
with the demonstrations. Still, he was arrested immediately and sent to the Investigation
prison in Dammam. No prior arrest warrant was issued about AlUtal, yet, he was arrested
immediately.
AlUtal
was interrogated accompanied by torture in several methods such as electroshock
(tazer), beatings with rubber hoses and sticks, kicking, slapping, punching, strappado,
moral and religious insult and degrading inhuman treatment, detention in solitary
confinement for more than two months in a complete isolation from the outside
world without allowing him to have a lawyer or family visits. Consequently, he
was physically and psychologically damaged to the point where he became weepy.
Under
all these violations, the public prosecutor charged AlUtal with the following:
-
Disobeying
the Guardian (wali al amr), corruption, disturbing public peace and tranquility,
spread chaos, inciting sectarian strife, attempted to murder a policeman and
assault, causing riots and obstruction in public roads.
-
Purchase
and possession of weapons.
-
Participate
in demonstrations and chanting anti-state and guardian and provoking others.
-
Harboring
a fugitive who shoot at security men.
And
after a series of hearings, with no right to counsel at the beginning, the judge
at the SCC sentenced AlUtal (24 years old) to death on June 8th
2014. The SCC did not take into consideration the torture and force confession,
therefore and lawfully, it is not valid and the court cannot use AlUtal confession
in such a case since this violates legal standard. Specifically, as in Article
15 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, which Saudi joined in 1997, “Each State Party shall
ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of
torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings”.
We
in the ESSHR demand the Saudi government - and urgently – the following:
1.
The
abolition of the death penalty issued against AlUtal.
2.
An
immediate release of AlUtal and all political prisoners and prisoners of
conscience.
3.
Put
an end to the use of torture in detention centers and prosecute responsible officials
for fair trials, therefore, achieving fair legal environment of non-impunity.
4.
Separation
of public prosecutors from the Ministry of the Interior.
5.
Reform
the judicial system, in accordance with state standards.
Also,
ESSHR calls the international community to immediately intervene to protect the
AlUtal, who was sentenced to death in an unfair trial, due to the following:
1.
Condemn
the death penalty against AlUtal, due to the lack of a fair trial.
2.
Demanding
the Saudi authorities to drop down politically motivated rules and
unconditionally release of all political prisoners.
3.
Calling
the Saudi authorities to prosecute responsible officials in all cases of
torture carried out in detention centers in Saudi, especially in the
Investigation prisons, either through giving orders, supervision, or knowing
about torture.
4.
Demand
the Saudi government to comply with its commitments to international
conventions.
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