Amnesty International

URGENT ACTION

Saudi Arabia: Imminent execution

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 23/039/2007

UA 309/07 Imminent execution

16 November 2007

SAUDI ARABIA Sheikh Mastan Alias Mohammed Salim (m) aged 30, married with one child Hamza Abu Bakir, (m) aged 47, married with four children .

The two Indian nationals named above are currently detained in al-Dammam Prison in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. They are reportedly at risk of imminent execution. They were arrested in January 2004 on charges of drug possession.

In June 2006, they were convicted and sentenced to death by a court in al-Dammam. However, they were not legally represented and very little is known about their trial except that their conviction and sentence are said to have been upheld on appeal and their execution may be imminent.

They are reported to have been visited only once since their arrest and that

was by a representative of the Indian Consulate on 29 May 2007.  

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences. Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial, and take place behind closed doors.

Defendants normally do not have formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress, torture or deception. The rate of executions in Saudi Arabia has recently increased sharply, and the authorities have executed at least 140 people so far this year, although the true figure may be much higher. Death sentences are usually carried out by beheading.