Saudi Arabia silences voice of dissent: activist

An activist, who has been on trial for several months in Saudi Arabia, says the country is attempting to silence the voice of dissent.

“We have a number of cases where people are thrown in prison arbitrarily, torture, forced disappearances. … Whatever rights abuses (you could think of), you could find in Saudi Arabia,” said Mohammad Fahad Muflih al-Qahtani, one of Saudi Arabia’s prominent human rights activists, on Wednesday.

In June 2012, Qahtani was charged in a Saudi court on 11 charges including “breaking allegiance to” Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
“Of course, there will be a price to be paid, and we are more than willing to pay that price,” the 46-year-old added.

Meanwhile, Tamara al-Rifai, spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division, also condemned Riyadh for targeting activists.

“This has been a systematic approach by the authorities in Saudi Arabia — namely, the targeting and harassing of activists across the country,” al-Rifai stated.

She added that many people in the Arab kingdom “are being arbitrarily arrested and detained for exercising rights that are stipulated by all international human rights laws” and “the Arab Charter on Human Rights to which Saudi Arabia has adhered.”

In June 2012, Amnesty International (AI) said in a statement that Qahtani’s trial “is just one of a troubling string of court cases aimed at silencing the kingdom’s human rights activists.”

“The case against him should be thrown out of court as it appears to be based solely on his legitimate work to defend human rights in Saudi Arabia and his sharp criticism of the authorities,” AI’s Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said in the statement.

Anti-government protests have intensified in Saudi Arabi since November 2011, when security forces opened fire on protestors in Qatif, killing five people and leaving scores more injured.

Activists say there are over 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia.