Dr. Basher ibn Fahd ibn Safran Al-Basher, aged 47 at the time of the event, was arrested at his home on the evening of 15 March 2007 by fifteen information officers (Al-Mabahit) dressed in civilian clothes. They arrived in unmarked vehicles and took him to an unknown destination.
Only after nine months of secret detention and various measures taken with the authorities, did his family receive the right, under exceptional circumstances, to visit him at the Intelligence Services Al-Alisha Center. Dr. Al Basher was in tatters and complained to his family of ill treatment and unbearable conditions, most notably his period in solitary confinement.
Since this single visit, the family of Dr. Al-Basher is again completely cut off from him and has only been able to receive updates indirectly. His family learned he was still detained incommunicado under even worse conditions, in a refrigerated underground cell from which he never leaves and where he is kept handcuffed and permanently blindfolded.
His health has deteriorated significantly over the past year. The particularly inhumane treatment he continues to suffer has caused various diseases that he endures without medical treatment.
Dr. Al-Basher, before his arrest, pursued his right to freedom of thought, however also publically criticized government policy. His secret detention is most likely for political reasons, and it is indisputable that his detainment is an act of torture in itself, not only for him, but also for his family who is deprived of any news as to his condition.
Due to the circumstances and the legitimate fears of his family concerning his physical and mental health, Al-Karama demands urgent intervention, so that if there is no evidence against him, Dr. Al-Basher be released. It is also requested that he be treated humanely, under the protection of the law, and that a lawyer and his family are allowed to visit him.
Saudi Arabia: Detention and mistreatment of Dr. Al-Basher
15 Apr 2009
Dr. Al-Basher, professor at the University of Riyadh, where he resides, has been detained incommunicado since 15 March 2007. For two years, other than a single visit, his family knows nothing of his future. Al-Karama sent on 14 April 2009 an urgent appeal to the Rapporteur on torture and requested the Working Group on arbitrary detention, asking them to intervene with Saudi authorities.