A leaked draft of Saudi Arabia’s first written penal code exposes the hypocrisy behind Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s promises to portray his government as progressive and inclusive and falls dreadfully short of international human rights standards. Several Saudi legal experts have verified the legitimacy of the leaked draft criminal code, however Saudi Arabia’s authorities have not shared the text with independent civil society for review.
Context of reform agenda
The paper, Manifesto for Repression, examines the leaked draft code and shows how, contrary to the Crown Prince’s reformist objective, it violates international law and turns the nation’s appalling human rights record into written law. The proposed law does not safeguard the right to peaceful assembly and instead criminalizes the freedoms of expression, opinion, and religion. It does not shield women and girls from gender-based abuse and criminalizes abortion, homosexuality, and “illegitimate” consensual sexual encounters. Additionally, the proposal keeps flogging and other forms of physical punishment legal and codifies the use of the death sentence as one of the main forms of punishment. In order to underline the risks of accepting the text exactly as it is, the paper also cites previous instances of dissident suppression.
Discrepancies with reform rhetoric
Injustice and systemic abuses have long been fostered in Saudi Arabia by the lack of a codified criminal law. The Saudi Arabian government may have a unique chance to change their oppressive criminal justice system into one that upholds human rights if they adopt the country’s first codified penal code. But as we’ve examined the leaked draft code, it appears to be essentially a repressive manifesto that will uphold infringement of human rights and stifle liberties, according to Agnès Callamard. As it stands, the Crown Prince’s purportedly reforming aim is dispelled by the proposed code. Saudi Arabia is at a turning point in its history; with a proposed criminal code for approval in parliament, the government still has an opportunity to show the world that its reform promises are real. They need to quickly confer with experts from the independent civil society, make necessary changes to the draft code to bring it into compliance with international norms, and review current legislation in order to protect human rights.
Impact on Civil liberties
A global effort aims to expose the ugly reality of Saudi Arabia’s attempts to soften its image abroad in order to increase pressure for human rights improvements. The campaign will draw attention to startling instances of people who were wrongfully imprisoned or threatened with death for just voicing their opinions in a peaceful manner. Agnès Callamard stated, “We will draw attention to the terrifying effects of the nation’s oppressive crackdown and increase pressure on Saudi Arabia’s important friends to pursue real reform. The Saudi authorities have neither released the draft criminal code or given it to specialists from independent civil society organizations. Nonetheless, a number of Saudi legal professionals verified the legitimacy of the 2022 draft by publicly sharing and commenting on it, including two Saudi law companies and a member of the bar association. The 116-page draft criminal code that was released, carefully examining whether it complies with international human rights law and if it might worsen already-existing violations of human rights.
The report is based on interviews with experts acquainted with Saudi Arabia’s legal framework as well as ten years of human rights documentation of the Saudi authorities’ suppression of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, as well as the use of torture and other cruel punishments and the death penalty.
Political implications
The draft penal code does not codify crimes that have fixed punishments under sharia law (known as hadd or qisas crimes), leaving judges with broad discretion in deciding whether the evidentiary threshold is met. Instead, it only covers discretionary crimes (ta’zir crimes), for which the punishments are not specified in sharia law. Saudi Arabian authorities have severely curtailed freedom of expression over the past ten years, targeting a wide range of dissenting voices through imprisonment, exile, or conditional releases that include travel restrictions. These voices include journalists, human rights defenders, clerics, and women’s rights activists. Provisions against cybercrime and counterterrorism have been used by the government to stifle free speech and independent ideas. Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two and PhD candidate, is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for advocating women’s rights on X, a platform that was originally Twitter. This is one horrific case.
Conclusion
In conclusion, By making insults, slander, and criticizing the court illegal under ambiguous circumstances, the new penal code would strengthen these oppressive tactics, endangering more individual liberties and extending the assault on dissent.