The Specialized Criminal Court in Saudi Arabia sentenced the detainee, Muhammad Hassan Labbad (April 6, 1988), to Taazir death punishment, to join his underage brother Jalal Labbad, who was recently endorsed by the Specialized Court of Appeal against a similar ruling.
Labbad had turned himself in on September 12, 2017, to the Investigation Center, after his family received a phone call informing him that he was wanted by the security forces. The call came days after the Emirate of the Eastern Province announced that any wanted person who surrendered would receive a special pardon, and that Labbad was sure that he had not committed any crime, which prompted him to take the initiative to surrender himself through one of the civil figures, as the officials assured them that his case would It will be resolved, and he will not remain in prison for a long time, and he will be released as soon as the investigations with him are completed.
After he was transferred to the General Intelligence Prison in Dammam, treatment began to change. Muhammad was subjected to widespread violations and severe physical and psychological torture, which lasted for 5 months and 6 days, during which he was kept in solitary confinement.
Among what he was subjected to, was beating and flogging by several people with metal wires, kicking on all parts of his body, including the sensitive organs, and stepping on his neck until he suffocated, in addition to waterboarding, and handcuffs and feet for long periods. In addition, the interrogator deliberately hit him on his leg, as he was putting iron rods as a result of an operation he had previously performed, which caused it to swell.
Labbad was subjected to severe psychological torture, as he was placed in a dark and very cold room for days, then they put him in a room with strong lighting to prevent him from sleeping. He was also verbally abused, slandered, and threatened with rape and death threats against his sisters.
The torture he was subjected to led to repeated fainting, a drop in blood pressure, and a weak heartbeat, which put him in the hospital. The torture also led to continuous and continuous pain that prevented him from sleeping, in addition to long-term effects, including forgetfulness and lack of concentration.
Labbad was forced to sign statements under threat. After refusing four times to sign the statements that the interrogator had written and sending him back to interrogation and torture each time, he coercedly approved them.
He did not obtain his right to have a lawyer until after the start of the trial on September 17, 2019, before the Specialized Criminal Court, and at that time he learned of the charges against her, which are:
- Belonging to an armed terrorist organization that aims to rebel against the state and carry out terrorist acts to destabilize security through: receiving military training at the hands of security wanted persons, shooting, monitoring and planning to target security men and their security vehicles and throwing Molotov cocktails, providing military equipment to security wanted persons, covering up security wanted persons and terrorist elements And their plans, and cover up the planning of the organization's security forces to kidnap a judge.
- Seeking to destabilize the social fabric and national cohesion through calling, participating and promoting sit-ins and demonstrations.
- Financing terrorism and terrorist acts.
- Purchase, possession and use of firearms with the intent to breach security.
Before the judge, Muhammad Labbad denied all the charges against him, and confirmed that all the charges were based on his confessions and the confessions of other detainees without evidence or material evidence, and indicated that his confession was extracted under torture. No investigation was opened into the information about his torture, and on October 16, 2022, the court ruled that he be killed by Taazir punishment.
The European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights affirms that the case of Muhammad Labbad shows the reasons for the lack of confidence in the judicial body in Saudi Arabia, as well as the widespread violations that detainees are subjected to, which start from the moment of arrest until the verdict is issued, and continue in most cases after its implementation with the restrictions and violations that are exposed her families.
The organization points out that the death sentence imposed on Labbad, despite the lack of evidence and confirmation that he was subjected to torture, is a continuation of the political and arbitrary use of the death penalty with the aim of intimidating families and civil society, and a continuous and flagrant violation of previous promises by the Crown Prince regarding penalties for crimes other than murder.