The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) had already issued Opinion No 27/2007 on 28 November 2007 in which it recognized Dr Al Hashimi's detention to be arbitrary, as there was no legal basis for his arrest and as it resulted from the exercise of his right to freedom of expression. However, this decision has not triggered any reaction from the Saudi authorities to date. Alkarama informed WGAD of Dr Al Hashimi's trial on 5 May 2011 to request their intervention on his behalf.
Background information
After four years of ongoing protests, including hunger strikes, at his detention conditions and the lack of any trial, Dr Al Hashimi was notified of his charges in November 2010, following which he was tortured and forced to sign documents he could not read. He had already been subjected to ill-treatment back in 2009, stripped of his clothes and put in a freezing cell for four days because he was undertaking a hunger strike. His health is currently in a terrible state due to the many hours of torture he has endured.
Alkarama is informed that on 1 January 2011, Dr Al Hashimi was brought before a judge for the first time since his arrest. When his lawyer asked for authorization to represent his client, Dr Al Hashimi was pushed by the authorities to fire him and represent himself, depriving him of his right to legal representation. Accused of supporting and financing terrorism, he was sent back to prison despite rejecting the charges made against him.
Alkarama has unfortunately received many cases that illustrate the poor treatment of human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia (for example Saad ben Zair, Fadhel Al Manasif), arbitrarily punished for having used their right to opinion by persecution, unfair imprisonment, and in some cases torture and abuse. The right to be free of such treatment and to express oneself freely is protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are concerned with Saudi Arabia's ongoing lack of respect of its international engagements, especially regarding its cooperation with international human rights mechanisms established by the United Nations, despite being a member of the Human Rights Council.