Alkarama expresses its shock at the death of Saudi academic Musa Al-Qarni while in detention due to his deteriorating health, after nearly 15 years of detention, despite the publication of a UN resolution confirming the arbitrary nature of his detention along with eight other personalities, including political activist Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashemi, on whose behalf Alkarama wrote to the UN special procedures.
Al-Qarni's death was announced on Tuesday 12 October 2021 and he is considered the second Saudi political opposition figure to die in the Kingdom's prisons in less than two years, as prominent activist and political prisoner Dr Abdullah Al-Hamid "Abu Bilal" died earlier in similar circumstances. This raises serious concerns about the fate of hundreds of prisoners of conscience, activists and human rights defenders in the country.
Musa Al-Qarni
Dr Musa Al-Qarni was arrested on 2 February 2007 by the Saudi intelligence services, and taken with others to Dhahban prison in Jeddah, and subjected to various forms of torture and ill-treatment. In November 2011 the Specialised Criminal Court handed down a 20-year prison sentence in addition to a travel ban, in a trial that lacked standards of justice.
According to human rights sources, Al-Qarni was subjected to horrific torture, kept in solitary confinement and forced to stand on one foot for long hours. He was also denied access to medication for diabetes and blood pressure, not to mention psychological torture, humiliation and other forms of abuse that led to a stroke and death.
Dr Al-Qarni was born in 1954 in Jazan, southern Saudi Arabia. He died at the age of 67. He was a scholar in the principles of jurisprudence. He earned a master's degree and a doctorate with excellent grades. He worked as head of the Jurisprudence Department at the Islamic University and supervised dozens of scientific theses.
On 13 January 2010, Dr Musa Al-Qarni, Dr Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashimi and their companions were transferred from Jeddah to a prison in Riyadh, but it is believed that they were later returned to Dhahban prison in Jeddah.
Families of detainees in Saudi cities receive phone calls from the intelligence services informing them of the deportation process to the capital, Riyadh, without giving them any further explanation. Prisoners of conscience and supporters of political reform in the Kingdom have been charged with trumped up charges such as "opposition to the ruler", "inciting public opinion against the ruler", "belonging to a banned group", "supporting the Palestinian resistance", etc.
Saud Mukhtar Al Hashemi
This comes as academic and political activist Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashemi remains in detention, entering his sixteenth year in prison, suffering from several illnesses, including anaemia, diabetes, due to the long period of time he has spent in prison without movement.He also faces difficulties in getting regular medication.
According to Al-Hashemi's family, he is allowed to visit him every three months behind a glass and he is not allowed to receive food or clothes. Al-Hashemi is serving a 30 year prison sentence following an unfair trial before the Specialised Criminal Court. He has not been allowed to appeal against the sentence. Alkarama is currently preparing a follow up communication with the UN Special Procedures to raise the case of Dr Saud Al-Hashemi and others who have been detained for years.
The UN team's decision
In its Resolution No. 27/2007, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted that the arrest of Dr Musa Al-Qarni, Dr Saud Al-Hashemi and seven other well-known Saudi civil society figures constitutes a serious violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The UN team's decision was taken on the basis of a complaint submitted by Alkarama on 14 February 2007, requesting urgent intervention following the arrest and detention of the following nine individuals
- Dr Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashimi, Doctor of Medicine, 45 years old, human rights activist, well known in circles working for the introduction of constitutional reforms in the Kingdom.
- Mr Musa Al-Qarni, university professor, activist for public freedoms and constitutional reforms,
- Mr Suleiman Al-Rashudi, a lawyer and human rights activist, is involved in the defence of prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia, and in this context he is fighting to establish the right of these defendants to a fair trial. According to reports, he was released in December 2017, after approximately five years in detention,
- Mr Issam El-Bashrawy, lawyer, and activist for public freedoms and constitutional reforms,
- Mr Abd al-Rahman al-Shamiri, a former university professor, was dismissed from his position for reasons related to his political commitment to constitutional reforms,
- Mr Abdulaziz Al-Khuraiji, Doctor of Medicine, activist for civil liberties and constitutional reforms,
- Mr Abdul Rahman Sadiq Khan, academic researcher, activist for civil liberties and constitutional reforms,
- Mr. Sherif Seif El-Din Chahine, businessman, activist for civil liberties and constitutional reforms,
- Mr Mohamed Hassan Al-Qurashi, businessman, advocate of public freedoms and constitutional reforms.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has examined the situation of the detainees and has recorded a number of issues that constitute serious human rights violations.
According to information obtained by Alkarama, most of the members of the group have been released, with the exception of Musa Al-Qarni, who died two days ago, and Saud Al-Hashimi, who is suffering from a deterioration in his health.
The merits of the UN resolution
It should be noted that these personalities, including Dr Al-Hashemi in particular, are known for their public and explicit positions on domestic political issues, or related to international events, notably through the contributions of these personalities in the Arab media, as is the case for the Palestinian cause or the US occupation of Iraq. The official Saudi authorities had repeatedly asked Dr. Al-Hashemi not to give interviews to Al-Jazeera, but he nevertheless participated, three days before his arrest, in televised discussions in which he called for political reforms in his country.
On 2 February 2007, when the nine met in the house of one of the participants to discuss the proposed establishment of a committee for the defence of civil and political rights and the need for constitutional reforms in the country, they were all arrested by the intelligence services in Jeddah.
The UN Working Group wrote to the Saudi government about the arrests and asked for answers to a series of questions relating to the issues in question, while the Saudi authorities reiterated their allegations that they are accused of "supporting and financing terrorism" and "illegal activities related to the collection and transfer of funds for suspicious parties".
At a later stage of their detention, seven of the nine detainees were transferred from Al-Ruwais prison in Jeddah to places of house arrest, where they were allowed to receive their families, but were not allowed to leave the residences. Dr Saud Al-Hashemi and Dr Musa Al-Qarni were kept in complete isolation.
Al-Qarni, Al-Hashimi and their companions had gone on hunger strike several times, protesting against the harsh conditions of their detention and the restrictions imposed on them, in addition to the continued detention without due process by the Saudi authorities, for the sole reason of exercising their fundamental rights to free and peaceful expression of their political views.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted that the Saudi government has not denied the statements of the detainees confirming the political nature of these arrests, and the related call for freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
The UN team also recorded that the arrest and ill-treatment of these nine personalities constitute a violation of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular Articles 9 (which prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention), 19 (which guarantees freedom of opinion and expression) and 20 (which guarantees freedom of group formation and peaceful assembly).
The Working Group called on the Kingdom to rectify this situation so that it complies with the relevant procedures of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recommended that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.