ANHRI Demands the Immediate Release of “Al-Hamid and Qahtani”

/?p=11689

  • @alaingresh
    Nouvelles d’Orient
    3
    @orientxxi
    @02myseenthis01
    @wardamd
    3

    A day in the life of King Abdullah

    ▻http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130223154239

    Un entretien avec le fils du roi d’Arabie saoudite, sur la Syrie mais aussi sur les situation sociale dans le royaume

    Welfare is increasingly the king’s concern, said Prince Miteb. Between two million and four million citizens live below the poverty line, and Saudi Arabia also has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the region, with an estimated two million of 28 million Saudis without work .
    “[King Abdullah] gets upset when he repeatedly hears about unemployment, shortage of housing or delay in providing medical treatment to citizens,” he said.
    Since 2011, the King has widely expanded welfare spending, including a pledge to invest US$37 billion (Dh136bn) on new housing projects, wage increases and unemployment benefits.

    Nouvelles d’Orient
    • @02myseenthis01
      oAnth CC BY

      ▻http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/03/09/saudi-court-sentences-reformists-to-10-and-11-years-in-prison

      Earlier today, March 9th, the Riyadh Criminal Court issued its verdict against the two prominent reformists and human rights activists Mohammad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamid, after being prosecuted for “breaking allegiance to the ruler and his successor” and “trying to impede the country’s developments”. al-Qahtani was sentenced to 10 years in prison and al-Hamid was sentenced to 5 years in prison in addition to completing his previous sentence (7 years, released after a year with a royal pardon). The judge stated that their presence outside prison was “dangerous” and ordered their immediate arrest. In addition, the judge ordered dissolving the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Associations (ACPRA), and confiscating all of its propriety immediately. The defendants have a right to appeal the decision within 30 days.

      al-Qahtani and al-Hamid’s trial started in June 2012, separately and secretly. After the first hearing, the judge merged both cases but he insisted that it shall remain behind closed doors. The two activists refused, saying that it was a political trial, and publicity was their only grantee for justice. By the fifth hearing, the judge finally capitulated, turning it effectively into a public trial. [...]

      #activisme #advocacy #Proche-Orient

      oAnth CC BY
    Écrire un commentaire