Date: 06/11/1999

No: 86/H/99

 

A detention of a Citizen

From the East of Arabian Island

 

On 4 – 11 – 1999, the General Investigations(al-Mabahith al-`Amma) in Riyadh called the citizen Abdul Karim Hussain AL-Nemer a 45 – year- old –merchant of gold  in Dammam. Another group from the same department accompanied him to his house and it was thoroughly inspected, then he was transported to the prison of al-Mabahith. That measure was carried out by the General Investigations but neither the detainee was told of the charges, nor his family knew the reasons behind the detention. That measure was contrary to all human and Islamic traditions and laws.

 

In this regard, it is worth to point that al-Nemer was previously detained in 06/ 11 /1997 by al-Mabahith al-`Amma in spite of his return to the country in 1993 according to what is called the (General Amnesty) for the political opponents who were in exile. AL-Memer was among those who have exposed to the detention as a result of the fierce campaign that was engaged by the Saudi Regime against the energetic Muslims.

 

The citizen al-Nemer had been exposed to fierce harassment as preventing him to travel abroad, moving inside the country or making contact abroad. That happened since his release till the time of his detention in the second one.

 

Specialist news from the country mentioned that the Regime had imposed strict harassment against numerous number of former detainees, who were released later, as preventing them of traveling abroad for 5 to lo years. Also it imposed strict censorship on religious scholars’ activities to hinder them from performing their duties and they should put an end to their religious duties to educate people and offer them guidance, make public religious lectures, and lead of group prayers.

 

At the level the case of the citizen Hani al-Sayegh, who was delivered last month by the American authorities to Saudi Arabia, the Regime, through its Defense Minister (Sultan bin Abdul Aziz), declared that al-Sauegh’s family has visited him in the prison. That visit was occurred through a permission from the Ministry of Interior. The turn of that, the Regime permitted that visit after few days from the arrival of al-Sayegh to his country and before the completed investigation with him. This measure is considered as exceeding of the Regime law of treatment with the detainees who were prevented to face their families till the finish of investigation and the issue of the secret sentence. Particularly, the sentence against the detainee is forced on the judge by the Ministy of Interior.

 

May be the bad reputation and the black history of the Saudi regime in the field of torture and coercive treatment with detainees and the expectation from the others that the Regime would be treated al-Sayegh badly at his arrival to the country, made the Regime to forget the wait in permitting of that rare visit to al-Sayegh by his family. The Regime aimed from that visit to prove to the world and the International organizations that it follows the civil and human measures of treatment with detainees. The family of al-Sayegh, as other families became unable to face their prisoners or know their fate.

 

Will al-Sayegh be tried or have access to lawyers or he will be similar to the other detainees in the prisons of (Silence kingdom)? The detainees will be there without trial, defense or knowing the reasons of their detention. They will be in the prisons for uncertain period which is limited by the Ministry of Interior which is responsible of wasting the security of citizens and blundering them from their normal freedom and the rights of citizenship.