The forth trial of Sheikh Nemer Al-Nimr was held up 15/04/2014, who has been detained in solitary confinement since 8 July 2012 in the Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh, which is under the Ministry of the Interior.
Today’s trial is held up after three previous trials, scheduled irregularly, as follows:
The trial that was dedicated to submit the defense’s responses against the public prosecution charges, which includes “his belief of illegitimacy the Saudi regime; his disloyalty to the House of Al Saud in his Friday Khutbah[1] on 02/10/2011 and describing Gulf rulers as unjust in Friday Khutbah on 20/01/2012”, Sheikh Al-Nemer rejected to submit the response that was written by his attorney Dr. Sadek Mohamed Al-Jubran due to “not appropriately covering and addressing everything” stated in the list of public prosecution (which is incorrect), according to Sheikh Al-Nemer respond.
On the 3rd trail, Sheikh Al-Nemer asked for a pen and paper to write his responses, but it was not provided since the beginning of the trails, except one time after the 3rd trail where he was allowed but only until the end of the working time of the court. As a result, it was not enough to respond to all the charges presented by the public prosecutor.
“The accused and their counsel, if any, must be given adequate time and facilities to prepare the defense. Further, the accused must be given opportunities equal to that of the prosecution to present a case”[2], Amnesty International Fair Trials Manual. .
A state staff of Human Rights and a number of journalists of official media attended the trail, along with Sheikh Al-Nemer’s lawyer Dr. Al-Jubran and his brother Jaffer.
The official media representatives have been bias since the beginning of covering course the trial of Sheikh Al-Nemer. For instance, and during the 4th trail, “the trial was postponed for the four times to wait for the accused’s response, due his excuses and arguments to delay, but the judge required him to submit his defense against the charges in the next trail” the journalist stated that the delay is due to “waiting for the accused’s response against the charges”, plus stating that Sheikh Al-Nemer “was in an armed confrontation against the security force in Awamia[3]”..
Sheikh Al-Nemer prosecution process is in its four trials, where he has been detained over 386 days. This is a severe delay of prosecution based on international standards of a fair trial, at the time where the public prosecution is still demanding the death penalty for Sheikh Al-Nemer. This penalty is based on Sheikh Al-Nemer’s demands calling for the release of arbitrary detained Sunni and Shia citizens, demands of justice; and criticizing domestic political issues in his Friday Khutbah.
[1] Wikipidia: Khutbah (Arabic: sermon khuṭbah) serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khutbah
[2] Amnesty International Fair Trials Manual, P. 119
http://amnesty.org/en/library/asset/POL30/002/1998/en/81bf7626-d9b1-11dd-af2b-b1f6023af0c5/pol300021998en.pdf
[3] Al Riyadh Newspaper: “For the fourth time: accused of sectarian violence asked to postpone his trial”
www.alriyadh.com/927340