Joint Open Letter: A Closed letter from Human Rights Organisations to the Saudi leadership Sent on 16 July 2015 and no reply has been received as yet

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed binNayef bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed binSalman bin Abdul Aziz, Second Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister andDefense Minister

01-September-2015

Your majesty and royal highnesses

We are gravely concerned about theworsening situation of human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia asthey continue to face severe risks for their peaceful activism. Many ofthem are still in detention on fabricated charges where they are inadequatelyprotected from torture and other ill-treatment, and subjected to inhumaneconditions. The right to freedom of expression is violated, as they are bannedfrom freely expressing their opinions on the Internet or through other media,and face threats, intimidation, arbitrary arrests, prosecutions and harassmentas a result. Both the cyber-crime and counter-terror laws, adopted in 2007 and2014 respectively, are arbitrarily applied to target peaceful human rightsdefenders.

We,the undersigned human rights organizations, are writing to ask you during thisholy month of Ramadan, that you release all the detained human rights defendersand prisoners of conscience, including Walid Abu Al-Khair, Dr. Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid, Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Khodr, RaifBadawi, Mohammad Al-Bajadi, Fadel Al-Manasef, FawzanAl-Harbi, Sheikh Sulaiman Al-Rashudi, Issa Al-Nukheifi andall of their colleagues. This move will constitute a positive step and reassurethe international community, as all of these activists have not committed anyoffense whatsoever and they have simply exercised their right to peaceful andlegitimate work in the defense and promotion of human rights.

We are very concerned about the physicaland psychological integrity of these human rights defenders and prisoners ofconscience in the wake of the many documented reports of their ill-treatmentand lack of access to necessary health care. We consider that the situation ofdetained human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia is inconsistent with the UnitedNations provisions set forth in the "Standard Minimum Rules for theTreatment of Prisoners."

This should also comprise the right forlocal human rights organizations to work legally in a safe and enablingenvironment without fear of reprisals and free from any form of intimidationand harassment. This requires the abolition of all laws that unlawfully limitor restrict freedom of expression through the traditional media or social medianetworks.

As noted above, the cybercrime andcounter-terrorism laws, in particular, have been applied in an arbitrary mannerto silence human rights defenders and to unlawfully restrict freedom ofexpression. While we recognize the rights and duties of all states to fightterrorism, we believe as human rights organizations that it is essential toconfront such threats in a manner which respects human rights and complies withSaudi Arabia’s obligations under international law. That means that humanrights defenders must not be prevented or impeded from exercising their rightsand responsibilities to defend human rights. We fear that the absence of a safeand enabling environment for the defense and promotion of human rights, and therepression and imprisonment of human rights defenders, has contributed some toresort to violence. We also strongly believe that a real national dialogue withthe entire spectrum of peaceful views in the Kingdom is the safest way toaccommodate and contain differences.

Your majesty, you mentioned in yourmeeting with Saudi Arabian human rights bodies on 22 May 2015, that you areworking to "achieve justice, and to ensure freedom of expression, and toaddress the causes of division and its reasons, and not to discriminate, as thereis no difference between a citizen and another, or between one region andanother, for sons of the nation are equal in rightsand duties." Unfortunately, these words have not yet reflected inpractice. We urge you today to ensure that the values and principles you haveclearly espoused and called for are upheld in reality.

Finally,we call on you to guarantee in all circumstances that all human rightsdefenders in Saudi Arabia are able to carry out their peaceful and legitimatehuman rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of intimidation,including judicial harassment.

Theco-signed organisations:

1. Amnesty International (AI)

2. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

3. CIVICUS World Alliance for CitizenParticipation

4. Front Line Defenders (FLD)

5. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

6. Human Rights Watch (HRW)

7. International Federationfor Human Rights (FIDH) under the Observatory for the Protection of HumanRights Defenders

8. Reporters without Borders (RSF)

9. World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) under the Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights