Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its determination to restrict basic freedoms and practice various forms of repression, with the public prosecution transferring detainees from the Al-Safa Club's audience to trial.
After nearly a month and a half since the arrests and summonses targeting the supporters of Al-Safa Club in Riyadh following the dissolution of its management board, the public prosecution has referred 12 suspects to the criminal court in Dammam. It is expected that their first session will be held on March 28, 2024.
According to information received by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, the public prosecution is demanding imprisonment for up to five years, in addition to confiscating phones, closing mobile numbers, and shutting down social media accounts based on the Anti-Cybercrime Law, along with a punitive punishment.
The demands of the public prosecution are based on charges including, but not limited to, sending material that undermines public order through the information network and electronic devices, undermining public order by igniting sectarianism through disseminating sectarian content in places of public gatherings, and undermining national unity and pre-coordination to carry out this act.
The charges facing the detainees relate to chanting religious chants during a football match that took place on January 24, 2024. The public prosecution relies on recorded footage from the match showing the audience chanting along with the detainees joining a group via WhatsApp to coordinate fan activities.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights sees the actions taken by the Saudi government against Al-Safa Club's audience as further evidence of repression and violations. It considers the dissolution of the management board, summoning over 150 individuals, and the arrest and trial of 12 individuals over chants and expressions as a new phase of intimidation practiced by the Saudi government, where any gathering has become susceptible to targeting.
The organization also asserts that the repeated use of the Anti-Cybercrime Law is part of the systematization of repression and violations, as the laws criminalize any activity, exchange, or correspondence without limits.
ESOHR points out that targeting Al-Safa Club's audience is within the context of unprecedented repression witnessed in the country in recent years, constituting a blatant violation of freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly, and belief.