Court in Riyadh on Saturday morning, they knew what was waiting for them. The two founding members of the banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) have been on trial since June 2012, and the judge was expected to hand down his ruling at the session scheduled on Saturday. As the defendants arrived to the court, they were received by more than 100 activists who came to show their support and attend the hearing which was also marked by a heavy presence of security officers with truncheons hanging from their belts.
The government has been accusing al-Hamed and al-Qahtani with a series of charges that include founding an unlicensed human rights organization, seeking to disrupt security and inciting disorder, undermining national unity, breaking allegiance to the ruler, disobeying the ruler, and questioning the integrity of officials. These are considered serious charges in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy where political dissent in not usually tolerated. It does not allow protests, political parties, or unions. Saudi Arabia is also a main ally of the United States in the Middle East.
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Saudi capital last Sunday for talks with Saudi officials. Most of his talks focused on the situations in Syria, Egypt, Yemen, and Iran as well as counterterrorism. Local Saudi issues only merited a brief statement. Kerry said, "We encourage further inclusive reforms to ensure that all citizens of the Kingdom ultimately enjoy their basic rights and their freedoms," and he commended the king's decision to appoint 30 women in the advisory Shura Council. There was no mention of the activists' trial.
Saudi writer Abdullah Alami suggested on Twitter that the U.S. government would have reacted differently if the sentences against the activists were issued in a country other than its oil-rich ally Saudi Arabia. He wrote, "A reality that we must know: if the sentences were issued in a poor country, Mr. John Kerry would be on television screens condemning human rights violations in that country." Full story...
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The government has been accusing al-Hamed and al-Qahtani with a series of charges that include founding an unlicensed human rights organization, seeking to disrupt security and inciting disorder, undermining national unity, breaking allegiance to the ruler, disobeying the ruler, and questioning the integrity of officials. These are considered serious charges in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy where political dissent in not usually tolerated. It does not allow protests, political parties, or unions. Saudi Arabia is also a main ally of the United States in the Middle East.
(...)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Saudi capital last Sunday for talks with Saudi officials. Most of his talks focused on the situations in Syria, Egypt, Yemen, and Iran as well as counterterrorism. Local Saudi issues only merited a brief statement. Kerry said, "We encourage further inclusive reforms to ensure that all citizens of the Kingdom ultimately enjoy their basic rights and their freedoms," and he commended the king's decision to appoint 30 women in the advisory Shura Council. There was no mention of the activists' trial.
Saudi writer Abdullah Alami suggested on Twitter that the U.S. government would have reacted differently if the sentences against the activists were issued in a country other than its oil-rich ally Saudi Arabia. He wrote, "A reality that we must know: if the sentences were issued in a poor country, Mr. John Kerry would be on television screens condemning human rights violations in that country." Full story...
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