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HRW: Saudi Arabia Should Close Down So-Called “Terrorism Court”

Local Editor

The international body Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed the so-called "Specialized Criminal Court" in Saudi Arabia, urging the latter to close down the court as it violated the right to a fair trial.
HRW: Saudi Arabia Should Close Down So-Called “Terrorism Court”

In a report published on Friday, HRW asserted that the Saudi Specialized Criminal Court was set up in 2008 to try terrorism cases, yet is increasingly exploited to try peaceful protesters and activists on politicized charges.
On this level, the HRW report recalled that earlier in April, the court sentences two people to prison for their "peaceful activism, and the trials of at least four others are ongoing, in violation of their rights to freedom of expression."

"Trying Saudi political activists as terrorists, merely because they question abuses of government power, demonstrates the lengths the Saudi government will go to suppress dissent," Senior Middle East researcher at HRW, Christoph Wilcke said.
"The trial of peaceful reformers in a terrorism court underlines the political nature of this court," he further indicated.
Moreover into the obvious Saudi human rights violation, the human rights body affirmed that the charges against the rights activists and protesters do not claim that they used any kind of violence.

"The charges against these peaceful critics are vague, overbroad, and of a political nature," Wilcke said. "By putting the rulers beyond any form of criticism the charges only serve to underline the lack of tolerance of political dissent," HRW's Senior Middle East researcher iterated.
Furthermore, Wilcke doubted the Saudi trial's fairness, stated, "If the trials were fair, there would be no reason to close them to the public [...]. But it seems like the authorities are trying to obscure their injustices by hiding the courts, trial dates, and defendants from public view."

HRW expressed in its report its opposition to all special courts for so-called national security crimes, as they frequently try peaceful protests on unjust political charges and in unfair proceedings.
"It is time Saudi Arabia stopped politicized persecution of peaceful dissidents through the courts and respected its own laws on court proceedings and international human rights obligations," Wilcke concluded.

Source: Human Rights Watch, Edited by moqawama.org