Legal experts have reiterated their concerns regarding the situation of human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia. "In a May 2021 letter, 7 UN special rapporteurs confirmed that Saudi Arabia is exercising a pattern of restrictions against any form of opposition, and that there is a systematic strangulation against anyone exercising their right to express their opinion or form an association or defend it."
The letter was signed by: Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Special Rapporteur on the rights to physical and mental health, Special Rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism, Special Rapporteur on torture and Special Rapporteur on violence against women.
The letter provided information on 20 human rights defenders who were arbitrarily arrested and sentenced to imprisonment for exercising their rights to promote and defend human rights, as well as information on torture and ill-treatment.
The letter detailed the cases of Mubarak al-Otaibi, Abdullah al-Hamid, Mohammed al-Bejadi, Abed lKarim al-Khodor, Walid Abu al-Khair, Fawzan al-Harbi, Isa al-Hamid, Fadel al-Mansaf, Raif Badawi, Isa al-Nukhaifi, Abdul Rahman al-Hamid, Omar al-Said, Abdul Rahman al-Sadhan, Muhammad al-Rabia, Muhannad al-Muhameed, and women human rights defenders: Nouf Abdul Aziz, Nasima Al-Sada, Samar Badawi, Iman Al-Najfan, Hatoon Al-Fassi.
The rapporteurs reiterated concerns about the impact of the anti-terrorism law on the enjoyment of basic human rights and freedoms in Saudi Arabia. The Special Rapporteur noted the worrying trend that the Special Rapporteur on terrorism had emphasized on the impact of the law on freedom of opinion and expression, arbitrary arrest, forced disappearance and the right to a fair trial. The rapporteurs also noted that the Committee against Torture and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had criticized the Specialized Criminal Court, in particular that it was not sufficiently independent and used against activists.
The letter expressed deep concern among the rapporteurs about the continued arrest and criminalization of human rights defenders and their work, despite the contrary to international law.
The rapporteurs pointed out that the 2020 report of the UN Secretary-General on cooperation with the UN confirmed that the treatment of civil society in Saudi Arabia is characterized by arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment, torture and harassment.
The letter pointed out that the criminalization of human rights defenders for their legitimate and peaceful efforts in defending the rights of others in Saudi Arabia is not only related to the detrimental impact on the lives of these individuals and their families, but also the horrific impact on the entire civil space in the country. The rapporteurs expressed concern that this approach was aimed at discouraging others from exercising their fundamental freedoms and defending the right of others to do so as well.
They mentioned that the Committee against Torture and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had criticized the work of the Specialized Criminal Court and considered that it was not sufficiently independent.
The letter affirmed that the allegations in question violated the rights to liberty and security of person, the right not to be arbitrarily arrested, the right to freedom of religion and belief, the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly and association.
The rapporteurs made several recommendations and requestes, including information on the health situation of human rights defenders and their access to treatment, and providing details of the results in the case of any investigation into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment. The letter also requested information on the legal status of Hatoon Fassi, Iman Al-Nafjan, Samar Badawi, Nasima Al-Sadah and Nouf Abdulaziz.
The European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights asserts that the successive criticism of Saudi Arabia and the mechanisms adopted to combat terrorism did not push it to amend these laws, but rather continued to use them as a cover against defenders and activists. According to the organization, the systematic use of these laws, which has reached the point of death sentences for some activists, including minors, stresses the importance of adopting effective mechanisms to hold violators accountable and amend the laws to prevent their exploitation.