The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has confirmed that Saudi Arabia arbitrarily detains Awad bin Mohammed Al-Qarni and has urged the country to take necessary steps to rectify his situation in line with international standards.
In its opinion adopted in September 2023 and published in October 2023, the Working Group considered, after analyzing all aspects of the case, that the appropriate solution is to release Al-Qarni immediately and grant him compensation rights. The opinion also called on the Saudi government to hold accountable those responsible for violating his rights.
The Working Group clarified that it received information about Al-Qarni's case from a source and received a response from the Saudi government. The official response, however, merely reiterated the adherence to legal procedures, which, according to the Working Group, is insufficient to refute the source's claims.
The Working Group emphasized that states are obliged to respect, protect, and fulfill all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including personal freedom. Any national law allowing deprivation of liberty must be in accordance with relevant international standards outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other applicable international and regional instruments. Therefore, even if the detention complies with national legislation and regulations, the Working Group has the right to assess the conditions of detention and the law itself to determine its compliance with relevant provisions of international human rights law.
The Working Group identified three categories of violations concerning Al-Qarni's detention:
Category One: Lack of Legal Basis
The Working Group affirmed that, for deprivation of liberty to be justified, it must have a legal basis, and it is not sufficient for there to be a national law or practice allowing for the arrest and detention of the suspected individual.
It pointed out that the failure to provide reasons for the arrest immediately, constitutes a violation of Articles 3 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as Principle 10 of the set of principles concerning the protection of all persons under any form of detention or imprisonment. It affirmed that Saudi Arabia's indication in its response that there is a legal basis justifying the arrest is not sufficient, as the charges were not explained to him immediately upon arrest, and neither were the reasons.
Under these circumstances, the team argued that Al-Qarni, according to their opinion, was unable to challenge the legitimacy of his detention before an independent judicial authority, violating Articles 8, 9, and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For these reasons, the Working Group concluded that the government had failed to establish a legal basis for his detention, rendering his detention arbitrary within the framework of the first category.
Category Two: Arrest Resulting from Exercise of Rights or Freedoms
The Working Group highlighted that freedom of opinion and expression is a fundamental human right enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Governments must respect, protect, and implement individuals' rights to hold and express opinions, even if they do not align with official policies.
The team clarified that Saudi Arabia did not provide any evidence that Al-Qarni's social media posts, which formed the basis of the charges against him, involved violence or incitement to violent behavior.
Therefore, the working group concluded that Al-Qarni was exercising his rights peacefully, and his behavior fell within the bounds of freedom of opinion and expression protected by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Consequently, his deprivation of liberty cannot be considered consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Therefore, his detention is deemed arbitrary and falls under the second category.
Category Three: Non-Compliance with International Rules Related to the Right to a Fair Trial
Given the Working Group's conclusion that Al-Qarni's detention is arbitrary within the second category, it emphasized that no trial should have taken place. However, the trial began in September 2018, and the prosecution sought the death penalty. The Working Group noted that the trial has been ongoing for five years.
The working group observed that the government acknowledged in its response the arrest and detention of Al-Qarni and his subsequent appearance before the court. However, it did not provide information about the period from his arrest to his appearance before a judicial authority, especially considering that he remained in pre-trial detention for more than five years, without the government offering a detailed or sufficient justification for this delay.
The working group pointed out its conclusion that Al-Qarni experienced enforced disappearance for several weeks after his arrest, and the government did not provide detailed information to refute the specific claims made by the source. Therefore, the working group considered the source's allegations credible and substantiated. Additionally, the working group observed that depriving Al-Qarni of legal counsel violated his right to access legal assistance as part of his right to a fair trial.
The working group concluded that violations of the right to a fair trial were of such gravity that Al-Qarni's detention fell into the category of arbitrary detention.
Category Five: Arrest on Discriminatory Grounds
The Working Group's opinion noted that Al-Qarni's arrest occurred in a specific political context, marked by successive authorities' crackdowns on freedom of expression. In response, the government claimed that all individuals are equal before the law, entitled without discrimination to equal protection and benefits provided by the law.
The Working Group observed that the government provided general information about its laws, which was insufficient to dispel the credible allegations made by the source. Therefore, the Working Group concludes that Mr Al-Qarni is detained for discriminatory reasons, namely based on his political and religious opinions.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights sees the continued threat to the life of the preacher Awad Al-Qarni with the death penalty, despite the confirmation of the UN Working Group's opinion that his arrest is arbitrary, as evidence of the Saudi government's dealings with international human rights mechanisms.
ESOHR points out that the Working Group's analysis of Al-Qarni's case and the information from the source confirm the political use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, especially in cases where detainees face charges that are not considered the most serious under international law. The organization explains that, according to its tracking, 64 detainees, along with Al-Qarni, face death sentences on similar charges that are not of the most serious nature.