Shi'a delegation from Qatif meet Saudi Interior Minister about the forgotten Shi'a prisoners 

24 December 2007

On 20 December , a delegation from al-Qatif city included some judges of Shi'a court of al-Qatif  and number of notable figures headed by Sheikh Mohammed Alobeidan the chief of the court , met the Saudi Interior Minister (Nayef bin AbdulAziz) to discuss with him the issue of the forgotten Shi'a prisoners who continued to be held in al-Ha’ir prison and have been arrested as suspects in connection with the bombing of a US military complex at al-Khobar in June 1996 which left 19 US servicemen dead .

The delegation claimed that they obtained a promise from Nayef to re-examine the files of the prisoners and the possibility of release at least some of them.

It is worth mentioning that a similar delegation met the Minister before two years ago and raised the same issue and got similar promise but Nayef did not fulfill his promise.

It should be noted that the prisoners who were behind bars over ten years have not been granted access to lawyers. They have no opportunity to challenge the legality of their detention  and have not been allowed to family visit .

The Saudi regime has given no indication that their trial will start . It has also ignored requests for visas submitted by delegates of International human rights organizations who were hoping to meet the prisoners, but the Saudi regime rejected such calls and insisted on accusing them unjustly.  

The committee   for  the  defense of  human  rights  in the  Arabian Peninsula (CDHRAP) has repeatedly highlighted their case several times through both passing denouncing statements and contacting the international human rights organizations.

The Forgotten Prisoners(languishing in jail) are:

1- Hani Abdul Rahim al-Saygh , 36 , from al-Qatif / Sihat  October 1999

2- Abdullah Ahmad al-Jarrash , from al-Qatif  / al-Qala'a , August 1996

3-Hussain Moghayis , 33 , from al-Qatif / al-Bahari ,  April  1996

4-Abdul Karim Hussein al-Nemer  ,  45  , al-Dammam ,  November 1999

5- Sayyid Mostafa alQassab , 36 , from al-Qatif  / Mayyas , 1997

6- Sayyid Fadhel al-Alawi , 32 , from al-Qatif / al-Jaroudiyah , April 1996

7-Mustafa Ja`far al-Mo`llim , 28 ,from al-Qatif / al-Jaroudiyah , April 1996

8-Ali al-Marhoon , 32 , from al-Qatif /al-Jaroudiyah ,  April 1996

9-Salih Mahdi Ramadhan ,  32 , from al-Qatif /al-Jaroudiyah ,  April 1996