Between EU and KSA; First Human Rights Dialogue Amid Renewed Calls for the Release of Saudi Prisoners of Conscience

In the Belgian capital, Brussels, on September 27, 2021, the EU called on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to respect human rights, in a dialogue that is the first of its kind ever between the two parties about the horrible violations carried out by the authorities against the Saudi people.

This also comes following Amnesty International organization's call for European Union leaders to hold the Saudi authorities accountable for their suppression of freedom of conscience, harsh trials, arbitrary arrests, and other forms of persecution.

In general, the Saudi human rights file witnesses many criticisms of the Kingdom, especially from Saudi and international human rights organizations, while Riyadh rejects these accusations and claims to respect human rights in the country.

Since September 10, 2017, Saudi Arabia has witnessed a campaign of arrests of prominent preachers and thinkers, as part of a campaign to suppress those who reject the trends and measures taken by the Saudi Crown Prince, “Mohammed bin Salman.”

 

EU-Saudi Dialogue

The European Parliament announced the start of a dialogue with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the human rights file, after a session to discuss the draft report on human rights and democracy for the year 2021, which deals with a package of issues and reforms required from Riyadh, according to what was reported by AFP.

Head of the Human Rights and Democratization Division of the European Parliament, Louisa Rager, said: “I just got out of an important dialogue being held for the first time with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the human rights file on its land.”

The meeting was chaired by the EU's Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, from the European side, and from the Saudi side, Head of the Human Rights Commission in the Kingdom, Awwad Saleh al-Awwad, In addition to representatives of the member states of the EU as observers.

According to a memorandum issued in Brussels on September 28, 2021, the EU has expressed concerns about human rights issues of concern in Saudi Arabia.

The EU also referred to the issue of the recent increase in executions within the Kingdom, calling on Riyadh to abolish the execution penalty.

The EU also inquired about the conditions of detention, and it referred to several cases of Saudi human rights defenders.

On September 18, 2021, the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) revealed the names of 41 people under threat of execution in Saudi Arabia.

It indicated that Riyadh has executed 50 people this year so far (more than the entire year of 2020), this was followed by unfair trials and non-serious charges.

Last July, the European Parliament demanded, in a statement, the Saudi regime to allow European ambassadors and missions to visit its prisons and inspect the conditions of prisoners of conscience.

It stressed the need for Saudi Arabia to reconsider the cases of prisoners sentenced to death in order to commute their sentences, or to present them to a new and fair trial.

The European Parliament at that time called on the Saudi authorities to “immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders, and women’s rights defenders and activists detained in Saudi prisons.

Also, it saw that the reality of the Saudi political regime is that it is still largely undemocratic, and continues to severely suppress dissenting voices, despite its frequent announcements of ambitious human rights reforms.

Saudi human rights sources revealed in September 2018, that the number of prisoners of conscience in the Kingdom has reached nearly three thousand since September 2017.

According to human rights reports, Saudi Arabia has executed 130 people during 2019, most of whom were opponents of bin Salman's policy.

In the same regard, observers believe that “the removal of the false promises made by the Kingdom during the previous year regarding the improvement of the human rights situation in the country and the increase in human rights violations by the Saudi authorities came after Riyadh failed to obtain membership in the Human Rights Council in October 2020.”

 

Prisoners of Conscience

Amnesty International had anticipated the Saudi-European meeting by inviting European Union leaders to hold the Saudi government accountable for its repression to silence the voice of opposition, which has escalated in recent months.

It has urged the EU to recognize the essential role of Saudi civil society, which is facing a campaign of arbitrary trials, arrests, and other forms of persecution targeting its legitimate human rights work.

Also, it called for the release of human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia and those arbitrarily detained as a result, including: Raif Badawi, Issa al-Hamid, Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, Muhammad al-Otaibi, Khaled al-Omair and Isra al-Ghomgham.

Eve Geddie, Director of the EU Office at Amnesty International, said: “The EU must seize this opportunity to ask difficult questions to the Saudi authorities on their human rights violations, and not to whitewash its terrible history.”

Via a tweet, Amnesty International also called on Saudi King Salman Abdulaziz to release the reformist Islamic preacher Salman al-Awda. It referred to his solitary confinement since 2017, and the deterioration of his health.

The Saudi authorities had arrested Sheikh Salman al-Awda on September 9, 2017, hours after he posted a tweet on his Twitter account (14 million followers), urging Saudi Arabia and Qatar to end the diplomatic confrontation, a month after the blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on Qatar.

Al-Awda faces a death sentence for 37 false charges brought against him by the Saudi Public Prosecution, including: corruption, stirring up public conscience, and calling for a change in the Saudi government and regimes in the Arab region.

In previous statements, Abdullah al-Awda, the son of Sheikh Salman al-Awda, a researcher residing in the USA, announced “the harm that his father has suffered since his arrest has not stopped until now.”

He pointed out that “his father is subjected to a systematic policy of slow killing in an isolated cell as a result of his quest for the stability of his country and to secure a better life for citizens.”

It is noteworthy that Saudi prisons are teeming with hundreds of reformist religious scholars and activists, including: Awad al-Qarni, Ali al-Amiri and Hassan Farhan al-Maliki. Those who are subjected to the worst types of psychological and physical torture, in addition to many female detainees.

On its part, the human rights organization “ALQST” called on the Saudi authorities to immediately release all detainees for the peaceful expression of their views, and to drop all charges against them.

However, despite the numerous calls by international and non-governmental human rights organizations, public figures and activists to release them; but the Saudi authorities referred them to poor trials and imposed the death penalty on them.

It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia ranks third in the world in terms of implementing the death penalty, after China and Iran, according to a report by Amnesty International.

 

Arbitrary Sentences

Since September 2017, the Saudi authorities have carried out successive arrest campaigns targeting preachers, academics, activists, writers and journalists, most of them are still being held without charge, or are still on trial, or they are serving prison terms for their calls for political and social reform and the release of public liberties.

The judiciary continues to issue unfair sentences against male and female prisoners of conscience who are imprisoned in Saudi prisons.

Recently, the Saudi Criminal Court sentenced the detained Saudi preacher, Nasser al-Omar, to 10 years in prison, it also issued an 18-year prison sentence for the Saudi relief activist, Dalal al-Khalil, after 4 years of arresting and torturing them on false charges.

The Court also increased the length of sentences issued against a number of detainees in an unfair manner, including Dr. Omar al-Muqbil, is from 6 months to 4 years, Dr. Ibrahim al-Nasser from 3 months to 3 years, and the activist, Dr. Sanhat al-Otaibi, from 4 years to 8 years.

Finally, observers believe that all of bin Salman's previous moves aimed at eliminating advocacy and human rights activity in the country. In order to implement his dictatorial policy and market his new vision based on excessive openness and violating the customs and culture of Saudi society. As well as preparing for the inauguration of himself as a new ruler of the country to succeed his father.