All News items from Saudi Arabia

Saudi human rights lawyer Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim is the winner of the Human Rights Watch 2008 Human Rights Defender award. Human Rights Watch also announced four other winners of the 2008 award, courageous individuals working for justice and human rights from Uzbekistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Democratic Republic of Congo.  

Human Rights First, a Saudi Arabian human rights organization, has issued a press release publicly announcing their existence following the failure of the Saudi Arabian authorities to respond to their request to register for over two years. Front Line has called on the Saudi Arabian Government to ensure that human rights defenders, including Human Rights First, are free to operate in line with international standards including the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

On 15 March 2004, a group of human rights defenders were allegedly arrested in connection with their criticism of the newly established National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) for its lack of independence from the government, and for submitting an application, shortly before their arrest, in order to form an independent human rights organization to promote and protect human rights in Saudi Arabia. Their arrest was also allegedly a reprisal for their active engagement, in the last two years, in peaceful activities calling upon the government to take steps towards political reforms, democracy and respect for human rights.

Those still in detention are reportedly being held incommunicado at the General Intelligence (al-Mabahith al-'Amma) in 'Ulaysha, in the capital, Riyadh, and are at risk of torture and ill-treatment. It is reported that an official at the Ministry of Interior announced that the detainees were suspected of issuing "statements which do not serve the unity of the country and the cohesion of society...based on the Islamic religion".