Saudi Arabia uses enforced disappearance as a strategic tactic to spread terror within society. As the world commemorates the International Day of its Victims on August 30 Saudi Arabia stands out among the countries that practice enforced disappearance on a large scale, while it has been using it in new ways recently.
According to the Universal Declaration for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, it occurs when a person is arrested and then the responsible authorities refuse to disclose his fate and whereabouts or refuse to acknowledge the deprivation of his liberty, which strips him of the protection of the law.
Over the past years, the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights has documented Saudi Arabia's use of enforced disappearance during various stages from the moment of arrest to disappearance that begins for hours and may last for years.
ESOHR emphasizes that Saudi Arabia systematically uses enforced disappearance against detainees. Like Ali Mazyad continued to disappear for a year until he was deported without charges or trial, it is currently hiding aid worker Abdul Rahman al-Sadhan after issuing a 20-year prison sentence, as it prevents his family from reaching information or contact with him.
In addition, ruling documents show that many detainees are deprived of their right to communicate with the outside world and subjected to enforced disappearance upon arrest for days or even months, and in some cases enforced disappearance continues, as Ahmed al-Mughassil has disappeared since August 2015, and Suleiman al-Dawish has been disappeared since April 2017 until today. In addition, Saudi Arabia uses a policy of enforced disappearance of the executed bodies, resulting in continuous psychological torture for their families.
Recently, Saudi Arabia has begun to adopt a new policy of enforced disappearance that was not prevalent in the past, as it hides detained human rights defenders after the end of their sentences.
He is a professor of economics and a founding member of the ACPRA. He was arrested in March 2013, and sentenced to 10 years in prison and a travel ban due to his human rights activism. His term ended in November 2022.
Since October 23, 2023, after his family filed a complaint about assaults by other prisoners, I lost contact with him. Despite all attempts, the family did not know his whereabouts and fate, and he still forcibly disappeared to this day.
The United Nations confirms that enforced disappearance affects the families and friends of the disappeared, as they do not know if the victim is still alive, and if so, where is he being held, what are the conditions of his detention, and what is his health condition? The al-Qahtani family, who lives outside of Saudi Arabia, suffers from what he has been exposed to since his arrest until his disappearance.
In addition, in commemorating International Day, the United Nations indicates that women are often at the forefront of the struggle to find a solution to the dispute, and this is the case of Maha, the wife of Muhammad al-Qahtani, who works to reveal the fate of her husband through constant contact with Al-Ha’ir prison and the Criminal Court. Specialized, in addition to publishing about the issue.
He is a human rights defender who was arrested in December 2016 and sentenced to 6 years in prison and a travel ban due to his activism. In October 2022, he declared a hunger strike because he was not released despite the end of his sentence, and since then, he has forcibly disappeared. His family tries to contact him, to no avail.
The United Nations confirms that the distress of families is increased by the material consequences of disappearance, and in some cases the family that does not know if their beloved will ever return, it is difficult for them to adapt to the new situation, and the family lives economically and socially marginalized. Al-Nukhaifi's family has been suffering from the consequences of his arrest and enforced disappearance for years, and in light of the lack of any information about him, fears for his life and safety are growing.
ESOHR notes that the new approach adopted by the Saudi government in hiding human rights defenders after the end of their sentences reflects its attempt to spread terror in society and at the level of activists.
ESOHR explains that while the United Nations has expressed its concern about particular practices related to enforced disappearance, Saudi Arabia applies them systematically, including:
- Harassment of human rights defenders and relatives of victims
- States using counter-terrorism activities as a pretext for violating their obligation
- Perpetrators of enforced disappearances continue to enjoy widespread impunity.
ESOHR stresses that the authorities responsible for disappearances in Saudi Arabia, including prison administrations, courts, and the Public Prosecution, are not content with perpetuating a policy of impunity, but rather threaten families who continue to ask about the fate of their members and try to intimidate all parties that might be active in defending the forcibly disappeared.
ESOHR considers that enforced disappearance has always been a practice in Saudi Arabia and that it paves the way for the violation of fundamental rights, including the right to liberty, the right not to be subjected to torture, and the right to a fair trial. However, the new emerging trends in the disappearance of defenders who have completed their sentences for hundreds of days indicate the extent of the decline in human rights in Saudi Arabia in recent years.