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Saudi Arabia's Post-G20 Crackdown on Expression

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Saudi Arabia's Post-G20 Crackdown on Expression SAUDI ARABIA’S POST-G20 CRACKDOWN ON EXPRESSION RESUMPTION OF CRACKDOWN ON FREE SPEECH, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM AND USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY Amnesty International is a movement of 10 million people which mobilizes the humanity in everyone and campaigns for change so we can all enjoy our human rights. Our vision is of a world where those in power keep their promises, respect international law and are held to account. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and individual donations. We believe that acting in solidarity and compassion with people everywhere can change our societies for the better. © Amnesty International 2021 Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons Cover photo: © Private. (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode For more information please visit the permissions page on our website: www.amnesty.org Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. First published in 2020 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK Index: MDE 23/4174/2021 Original language: English amnesty.org CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 2. METHODOLOGY 6 3. RESUMPTION OF HEAVY SENTENCES FOR ACTIVISM AND SPEECH 7 TIMELINE OF CRACKDOWN FROM JANUARY TO JUNE 2021 7 3.1 SENTENCED FOR PEACEFUL ASSOCIATION 8 3.2 SENTENCED FOR PEACEFUL EXPRESSION 9 4. VIOLATIONS FROM ARREST TO SENTENCING 11 4.1 INCOMMUNICADO DETENTION, TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT IN PRE-TRIAL DETENTION 11 4.2 PROLONGED TRIALS BEFORE THE SCC 12 5. ARBITRARY AND JUDICIALLY IMPOSED TRAVEL AND SOCIAL MEDIA BANS 14 6. RESUMPTION OF USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY 16 7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 18 TO THE SAUDI ARABIAN AUTHORITIES 18 TO SAUDI ARABIA’S STRATEGIC ALLIES 19 TO MEMBERS OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL 19 CONTACT US JOIN THE CONVERSATION [email protected] www.facebook.com/AmnestyGlobal +44 (0)20 7413 5500 @Amnesty 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Following Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20 which culminated in the November 2020 summit, the Saudi Arabian authorities resumed punitive trials of human rights defenders and other dissidents, particularly before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), and their use of the death penalty. The months during which Saudi Arabia hosted the G20 summit had seen a lull in trial proceedings of human rights defenders and dissidents before the SCC and other Criminal Courts, as well as a marked drop in the use of the death penalty. This coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic which disrupted operations in the criminal justice system. However, after the end of the summit, from December 2020 onwards, courts resumed these trials, handing down heavy prison terms to individuals for their human rights work or expression through tweets, or imposing restrictive conditions on individuals released after serving their sentences such as travel bans or ordering the closure of their social media accounts. Some of those sentenced in early 2021 had in recent years finished serving lengthy prison terms from previous cases on similar charges related to their peaceful exercise of human rights. After an 85% drop in executions during Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20, executions resumed with nine people executed in December 2020 alone and a further 40 executed to date in July 2021. In one egregious case, the authorities executed a young man from Saudi Arabia’s Shi’a minority in June. This briefing features Amnesty International’s documentation of 13 cases of activists and dissidents who have been or continue to be prosecuted, sentenced or have had their sentence confirmed by the SCC or ratified by the King, between December 2020 and July 2021. Amnesty International has documented the cases of 64 individuals prosecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly: 39 currently imprisoned, while the others were recently conditionally released after serving their sentences or are awaiting trial for charges related to their expression and human rights work. In the majority of cases, the SCC handed down its sentences following grossly unfair trials, marred by incommunicado detention and solitary confinement for months at a time, no access to legal representation during the detention, interrogation and throughout the trial, as well as the court’s unquestioning reliance on “confessions” extracted through torture- in many cases leading to a death sentence on the basis of such “confessions.” The reality of these trials stands in stark contrast to recent announcements by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of legal reforms. In February 2021, the Crown Prince announced that Saudi Arabia would be adopting new laws and reforming existing ones in order to “preserve rights, bolster the principles of justice, enforce transparency, protect human rights and achieve comprehensive and sustainable development.”1 The announcement refers to four laws: a Personal Status Law, Civil Transactions Law, Penal Code for Discretionary Sentences and a Law of Evidence. To date, the authorities have yet to publish these laws or their implementing regulations, making it difficult to assess the human rights impact of the stated reforms. Yet, at the same time as the authorities were announcing these reforms, the judiciary resumed its pursuit of people who has voiced critical opinions or scrutiny of governmental policies, mainly through the SCC. In April 2021, the SCC sentenced a humanitarian worker to an outrageous 20 years in prison, followed by an additional 20-year travel ban for charges related to his peaceful expression of critical and satirical views of government policies on Twitter. The charges were based on vague provisions criminalizing peaceful expression under the Penal Law for Crimes of Terrorism and its Financing (Counter-Terror Law) and the Anti-Cyber Crime Law. Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Saudi Arabian authorities to repeal or amend both these laws to bring them in line with international human rights law and standards. Despite the long-awaited release of all of the women human rights defenders who remained behind bars in March and June 2021, the conditions placed on these releases effectively perpetuated violations of their rights. These conditions include travel bans or bans on public speaking, the resumption of human rights work or the use of social media, violating their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in the country and freedom of movement outside of the country. In addition, a number of family 1 Saudi Press Agency, “HRH Crown Prince Announces 4 New Laws to Reform the Kingdom’s Judicial Institutions”, 8 February 2021, spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2187801#2187801 INDEX: MDE 23/4174/2021 MONTH/YEAR: AUGUST 2021 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH amnesty.org members of human rights defenders, some of whom have been actively advocating for their loved ones’ releases have also been subjected to travel bans. In light of these latest developments, Amnesty International continues to be gravely concerned about the overall human rights situation: the continued detention and prosecution of human rights defenders, the use of overly broad laws to legitimize the targeting of peaceful expression and activism by way of unfair trials and the continued use of the death penalty following grossly unfair trials. As such, Amnesty International reiterates its call to the UN Human Rights Council to establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.2 2 Amnesty International, “HRC45: Jointly reiterate calls on Saudi Arabia to release human rights defenders and address key benchmarks for human rights reform” (Index: 23/2960/2020), 9 September 2020, amnesty.org/en/documents/mde23/2960/2020/en/ INDEX: MDE 23/4174/2021 MONTH/YEAR: AUGUST 2021 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH amnesty.org 2. METHODOLOGY This briefing examines the cases of 13 individuals who have been or continue to be prosecuted or sentenced before the SCC between December 2020 and July 2021, including one young man who was executed following the ratification of his death sentence. Five other individuals have been arbitrarily detained without charges for over three years. The briefing also examines travel and social media bans which several individuals face following their release this year. Amnesty International spoke to 10 individuals, including family members outside of Saudi Arabia, a lawyer and human rights experts; examined legal documents such as charge sheets and verdicts and reviewed government statements related to legislative reforms. To protect against reprisal, interviews were conducted in strict confidence and via trusted sources outside of the country, as anyone’s cooperation with Amnesty International inside the country would out them at risk of arrest and prosecution under the Counter-Terror or Anti-Cyber Crime Law on charges which include: “harming the reputation of the Kingdom” and “communicating with foreign organizations.” INDEX: MDE 23/4174/2021 MONTH/YEAR: AUGUST 2021 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH amnesty.org 3. RESUMPTION OF HEAVY SENTENCES FOR ACTIVISM AND SPEECH Since December 2020, the Saudi Arabian authorities have resumed their relentless crackdown on anyone who has expressed critical views of the government or expressed their opinions. The authorities sentenced individuals who have been detained arbitrarily for up to twenty years, as well as increased the sentences of individuals already serving prison sentences or those previously imprisoned for their human rights work. In five cases, human rights activists detained between three to six years were sentenced by the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) to prison terms ranging between six and 20 years in prison. In one case, the authorities increased the sentence of a human rights defender from 15 to 17 years for additional charges related to his attempt to seek political asylum while on trial for his human rights work.
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