The Saudi government persisted in its systematic curbs on religious and belief liberties until 2022. One of the Saudi Scholar, Sheikh Salman Al-Ouda has been detained since September 2017 without any legal charges. He has characterized his extended isolation as a breach of global human rights standards.
This prolonged confinement is a mental disorder as well as a physical torment. His health is not good under this phase but the government of Saudi Arabia is not granting him any release in his unjustified trial. Soon, Al-Ouda could lose an eye’s ability to see. He is even exhibiting a good attitude and the greater part of the time he spends in reciting the Holy Quran and saying his prayers.
But all this cruel action on the government’s part is not according to human laws. He requires appropriate medical treatment and total human behavior.
What was Al-Ouda’s crime?
Al-Ouda, joined by 20 other scholars of religion, was detained in 2017 on the charges of fundamentals of insulting tweets about the Saudi state. This was under an operation against the activists, scholars, students, and even individuals who discoursed over the Saudi brutality of the government.
Since Al-Ouda’s trial has been adjourned indefinitely for more than four years now, there has been no legally issued conviction against him. The entire proceedings were halted following the final hearing of the Specialized Criminal Court in 2021. He, along with a few other scholars, had been charged with terrorism at that time, and Saudi prosecutors had demanded a discretionary death sentence.
Due process abuses are the most pertinent problems because his trial was done in secret without the involvement of impartial human rights monitors or international observers. With close to 2,000 tweets as proof, the prosecution has built its case on social media, stating that his tweets, including being a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars and the European Council for Fatwa and Research, constituted illegal activities.
Saudi authorities had ordered Al-Ouda and other high-profile figures to tweet in favor of the government during the Qatar diplomatic crisis, but he refused before he was arrested.
Riyadh’s Specialized Criminal Court has charged Al-Ouda with 37 counts, including membership in international unions, inciting society, and calling for a change in the Saudi leadership. He has been sentenced to be executed, along with several other prisoners of conscience, by the Public Prosecution for “opposing the rulers.”
Is there any freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia?
Those who exercised their freedom of expression or association peacefully had been targeted by the authorities, and some were sentenced to death or long prison terms following grossly unjust trials.
After conditional release from prison, human rights defenders continued to be unfairly imprisoned or barred from traveling. After egregiously unjust trials, most notably those of children at the time of their alleged offenses, courts convicted individuals to death, and some were executed for a range of crimes.
There are severe human rights violations that migrants face. It includes killings on the Yemeni border and conditions amounting to forced labor and human trafficking. The Saudi government has sentenced many individuals to death on charges of terrorism. They also continued to detain individuals arbitrarily without affording them any chance to contest the legality of their detention.
Capital punishments for a range of crimes, including those perpetrated by individuals below the age of 18 at the time of the crime, have been issued and maintained by the courts. During the year, the government killed individuals for a range of crimes.
What types of violations exist in Saudi Arabia?
The government continued to crack down against those accused of violating immigration, border, and labor laws, including through arbitrary detention and deportation of foreigners solely due to their illegal immigrant status.
In marriage, divorce, custody of children, inheritance, and other practical and legal matters, women were discriminated against. Fathers are automatically assumed to be the guardians of their children under the country’s Personal Status Law. The father is appointed the legal guardian of the child without considering the best interests of the child. However, the mother is automatically granted custody in the case of a divorce.