Amnesty International demanded the immediate release of Fahd Ramadhan, a Dutch national who was detained by Saudi Arabian authorities since November 20, 2023, without being charged, having no legal counsel, and receiving inadequate medical care.
Why Is Amnesty calling for the Yemeni-Dutch national’s release?
Two days after returning from the Netherlands, where he had been granted asylum status since 2018, Ramadhan allegedly received a call from Saudi Arabia’s Criminal Investigation Department asking him to report to the police, according to the human rights organisation. Without a cause or a chance to speak with a lawyer, he was taken into custody that same day. An independent non-governmental organisation called ALQST, which promotes human rights in Saudi Arabia, claims that when private Whatsapp messages criticising the crown prince were discovered to have been leaked, Radhan was taken into custody.
Ramadhan was placed under incommunicado custody until January 1, 2024, at which point his family hired an attorney to represent him. But the Saudi Arabian authorities forbade them from having a meeting. In a different development, after Ramadhan became a Dutch citizen in late March of this year, representatives of the Dutch embassy in Riyadh were given authorization to visit him.
What led to the Yemeni-Dutch national’s detention?
As Amnesty International and other organisations have repeatedly noted, such an arrest and detention are not unprecedented in Saudi Arabia. According to Amnesty International, in 2023, authorities arbitrarily detained, tried, and sentenced a large number of people to long prison terms or even death because they exercised their right to freedom of expression. In October 2022, Amnesty International also revealed that twelve Nubian Egyptian men had been sentenced to prison in what was called a “grossly unfair trial.”
A similar example in 2023, where a man’s execution sentence was predicated on his activities on YouTube and Twitter, was highlighted by Human Rights Watch. Furthermore, the man spent the most of his incarceration without access to legal representation. Apostasy, “sorcery,” and adultery were among the nonviolent crimes for which the death penalty was allowed by law; nonetheless, death penalties for these crimes were uncommon and were typically lowered on appeal.
How Is Amnesty International pressuring Saudi Arabia?
For nonviolent terrorism-related offences, the death penalty was also an option, and authorities executed several people for these kinds of crimes. People found guilty of hudud, or crimes carrying specific penalties under the country’s interpretation of Islamic law, or qisas, a category of crimes that included various forms of murder, still faced the death penalty, even if the crimes were committed when the perpetrators were minors. In some cases, offenders were sentenced to death for actions they may have taken as minors.
The European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) reports that on February 16, UN experts submitted a letter urging the government to halt any death sentences against those facing crimes that occurred before they reached the age of 18. Human rights organisations claim that Huwaitat tribe members and members of the Shia minority received disproportionately high death sentences. According to a July 21 ESOHR report, 61 people were executed in the nation during the first half of the year. December 21: According to ESOHR, the nation executed 14 people in September, including two citizens who were accused of crimes they didn’t fully understand and who received unusual military convictions.
What Are the Human Rights concerns in this case?
The severe and potentially fatal circumstances in prison were brought on by medical negligence-related deaths. According to NGOs, facilities in jails and detention centres did not live up to international standards; other issues included harassment and denying family visits. Her conviction for “terrorism offences” was reported to the UN by Saudi ambassadors. The Sunni Muslim-ruled Gulf kingdom’s envoy in Geneva stated in a letter that Manahel al-Otaibi was found guilty at the end of her trial in January, but it did not elaborate on the issue.
A woman’s father, brother, husband, or son has the power to make important choices on marriage, divorce, and their children on their behalf under Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system. According to ALQST, her sister Fawzia was charged with similar offences but left Saudi Arabia that year after being called in for interrogation. Manahel al-Otaibi’s case was sent to the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) three months following her apprehension. Rights groups claim that the terrorism tribunal is well-known for its severe sentencing policies and for having been used to punish nonviolent dissidents.