Date: 11/07/1997

No   : 67/H/97

The Security and Freedom in Saudi Jails

   The Arabian Peninsula passes nowadays with tragic situation as plundering the security, tranquility and freedom of people, the brutal arrests, cruel torture and the unjustified call for hundreds of people, striking with Ferro-hand on the royal scholars who try to spread the religious awareness among people.

   The Saudi media tries to persuade the public opinion that the country lives in stability and safe and it applies the Islamic Shari`a. It considers the scholars and citizens, who are pursued and persecuted by the authorities, as outlaw dissidents who endanger the security enjoyed by the country and disobedient for the ruler. It is no doubt that the real reason which causes the confusion and the loss of security , fear, terrorism, religious discrimination, harassment of people and detaining them on the religious and political grounds, was the Saudi regime which suggested for the international public opinion through media that the reasons of that crisis were no more than  security reasons.

   As result of that dangerous plot which targeted to undermine the developing Islamic case and to restrict the liveliness  of the scholars  who were actives in the field of propagating the religious  awareness , guiding people into the right path and protecting the society of straying from their religion and avoiding them to follow the governmental bad trend , as a result of that, the members of the General Investigations (al-Mabahith al-`Amma) in the Eastern province arrested one of the most prominent scholars in Dammam city. He was Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdollah Mohammad al-Ali, aged 38. He was arrested at his home in Dammam on Monday 07 July 1997.

In the middle of this week, the members of al-Mabahith al-`Amma arrested some citizens, included:

1-     Samir Mohammad Ali al-Helal, aged 36, free services, from al-Dammam.

2-     Abdol Karim Hussain al-Nemer, aged 40, free services from al-Dammam.

3-     Mohammad Hhussain al-Nemer, aged 34, free services from al-Dammam.

The two latter were called to the office of al-Mabahith al-`Amma then their houses were searched in a barbaric way.

   In the last week, the citizen Khalid al-Dhobaiki, a 28-year- old, free services , from al-Qatif was arrested by al-Mabahith al-`Amma.

   On 2 June 1997 , number of citizens were arrested, included the citizen Abdul Aziz Sa`id Al Imran, a 38-year- old, employee in ARAMCO, from Tarout Island,

   In Dammam, the members of al-Mabahith al-`Ammam have arrested the citizen Ahmad Mohammad al-Nemer a 40 –year- old engineer from Dammam. He was arrested because he attached piece of black cloth in his house expressing the sadness about the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (P.B.U.H) which the Muslim Shi`a commemorating every year during the Islamic months Moharram and Safar. For that. the authorities have called a lot of people from al-Dammam to give them warn and to sign undertakings that they should not commemorate of that occasion.

   It worth mentioning that the Saudi regime prevented the people of Dammam to hold the religious assemblies and rites which they used to hold them every year despite the ban of the Regime and the punishment of detention.