EXTERNAL AI Index: MDE 23/05/95
UA 200/95 Execution / Flogging / Legal concern 15 August 1995
SAUDI ARABIA 'Abdullah 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hudhayf
Ibrahim 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hudhayf
Dr Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hudhayf, university lecturer
Dr Muhsin Hussain al-'Awaji, university lecturer
Naser Ibrahim al-Barak
'Abd al-Rahman 'Ali al-Hudhayf
Salih Mansur al-Barak
Khalid 'Abdallah Salih al-Yahya
Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Suwaylem
Sultan 'Abd al-Muhsin al-Khamis
One man is officially reported to have been executed and another sentenced
to be flogged after a trial of ten political prisoners held behind closed doors
in Saudi Arabia. The case has further heightened Amnesty International's fears
for up to 200 other political detainees believed to be currently detained without
charge or trial.
A statement by the Ministry of Interior announced that 'Abdullah 'Abd al-Rahman
al-Hudhayf, in his thirties, was executed on 12 August 1995 in Riyadh. It
said that he had been sentenced to death after he was found guilty of attacking
a security officer with acid and of having links with the leaders of the Committee
for the Defence of Legitimate Rights (CDLR), an organization based in London
and banned in Saudi Arabia.
Amnesty International received reports in June that 'Abdullah 'Abd al-Rahman
al-Hudhayf had been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment on the same charges
by a court in Riyadh. The organization does not know how his prison sentence
was increased to the death penalty as the trial has been, and remains, shrouded
in secrecy. He had had no access to defence lawyers or any legal assistance
since his arrest, possibly in November 1994. He is also said to have been
denied family visits and his body has apparently not been returned to his family.
Nine other political prisoners were sentenced to prison terms ranging from
three to 18 years. Four were convicted of participating in the planning of
the attack on the security officer and of membership of the CDLR. One of them,
Ibrahim 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hudhayf, has been sentenced to 300 lashes in addition
to 18 years' imprisonment. The other three, Dr Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman
al-Hudhayf, Naser Ibrahim al-Barak and Dr Muhsin Hussain al-'Awaji received
15 years' imprisonment each.
Two of the remaining five prisoners, 'Abd al-Rahman 'Ali al-Hudhayf and Salih
Mansur al-Barak, were convicted of providing refuge for 'Abdullah 'Abd al-Rahman
al-Hudhayf and were respectively sentenced to eight and five years'
imprisonment. The other three were convicted on various charges which included
assisting 'Abdullah 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hudhayf in his aborted attempt to leave
Saudi Arabia secretly and holding meetings for the CDLR and receiving its
leaflets. Two of these, Khalid 'Abdullah Salih al-Yahya and Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz
Suwaylem, were sentenced to five years' imprisonment each. The other prisoner,
Sultan 'Abd al-Muhsin al-Khamis, received three years' imprisonment.
The Ministry of Interior's statement concluded with the warning that "...such
will be the fate of anyone who breaches any aspect of our religion...or endanger
the security enjoyed by this country...". Amnesty International believes that
the ten men have been punished for their political dissent rather than the