DATE  : 22 / 08 / 1997

NO  : 69 / H / 97

Save the Religious Scholars from the Saudi Capture

It is clear that the Saudi authorities resolved to vacate the country from the religious scholars who do not follow the Regime’s Religious Establishment and not support its devastating way for people and the country . These scholars try to face the corruption and the western culture and try to join people with their religion and Islamic faith.

In the early of this week, the Saudi authorities arrested one of the most prominent scholars in the Eastern Province , he was Sayyid Mohammad Reza Sayyid Abdullah al-Mosawi, aged 36 , from Mubarraz town of Ihsaa.

It is worth mentioning that Sayyid al - Mosawi  has come back recently from Qom city in Iran to pursue his high Islamic studies as well as his teaching in its religious seminar.

It is note worth that Saudi Regime prohibits Shi'a to establish religious institutions and centers in the country or to travel abroad to pursue their religious studies and imposes cruel punishments that are contrary to Islamic laws and human rights, these punishments include detention for prolonged periods , withdrawing passports and put a ban on travel for many years.

The last few days have witnessed a wave of arrests included a lot of citizens in Ihsaa and al-Qatif. One of them was arrested at the Kuwaiti  Saudi frontier because the police found a cassette of Islamic recording in his possession.

Some of former prisoners who have been released recently stated to our Committee (CDHRAP) that al-Mabahith al-`Amma exercised pressure on them to join it as agents or informers to monitor the citizens and the members of the opposition, and offered them money.

Some of international newspapers and broadcastings quoted the protest of Amnesty International towards a deal the of electro-shock batons between a British Company and Saudi Arabia. The  AI  has called on stopping that deal because the Saudi government would use it against people particularly who were in prisons, but with best respect to that positive attitude of the organization , we say that these weapons have been in Saudi Arabia before 20 years and used by anti-riot police and National Guard Forces before 18 years to restrain the demonstrators during of Muharram uprising in 1980 and they have been used inside and outside the prisons.

The AI and other international organizations should try hard seriously to reveal the brutal instruments and measures which are used now against detainees and the result a lot of victims as Maithem al-Bahr, Sa'ud Hammad, Ahmad Khemis and Zahra al-Nasir . They also caused deep- rooted diseases and deformities for hundreds of citizens.