Saudi government defends imminent protest-related executions

The following is an August 4 press release from the international human rights and legal group, Reprieve. I'd note only that Saudi Arabia is a firm ally of the United States, and U.S. apologia for that government's human rights violations have been going on for decades.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Justice has released a rare response to criticism over the imminent execution of 14 Saudi nationals on protest-related charges - including juveniles and a man with disabilities. The statement, released today, makes a number of apparently false claims about the trial of the 14.

The Saudi government is facing criticism over plans to execute the 14, who were arrested in the wake of protests and sentenced to death on protest-related charges in a secretive counter-terrorism court. Among the group is a juvenile, Mujtaba al Sweikat, who had a place to study at university in Michigan, but was arrested at the airport en route to the USA; and Munir Adam, who has disabilities. Both men were tortured into making false confessions, which were used against them at trial. Last month, the Supreme Court upheld the 14 protest-related death sentences, meaning the executions are now imminent.

In a statement released today, Sheikh Mansour Al-Qafari, the spokesman of the Ministry of Justice, responded to criticism over the standard of the trial of the 14. The statement claimed that all trials before the controversial Specialised Criminal Court - which sentenced the 14 to death - meet international standards for fairness and due process, and allow for access to lawyers, the preparation of a defence, and even access to the trials by media and human rights observers.

The public statement on the executions is at odds with assessments by the UN, as well as rights groups such as human rights organization Reprieve. Reprieve has established that at least one defendant, Mujtaba, was never permitted to see a lawyer; in Munir's case, no evidence against him was presented at trial. Mujtaba told the court at trial that he was tortured into a false confession, but this claim was dismissed by the judges and never investigated.

In November 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said of the Specialized Criminal Court that “such a special court, specifically designed to deal with so-called terrorism cases, raises serious concerns about its lack of independence and due procedure.” The UN Committee Against Torture has accused judges of the Court of “repeatedly refus[ing] to act on claims made by defendants facing terrorism charges that they had been subjected to torture”.

Today’s Saudi statement also claimed that death sentences are only handed down for the most serious crimes. However, the Saudi authorities continue to carry out executions for non-violent alleged crimes, including political protest and drug offences. Some of the 14 men were convicted of offences such as using mobile phones to organise demonstrations, and using social media.

Commenting, Maya Foa – Director of Reprieve – said: “Saudi Arabia’s attempts to justify these 14 unlawful executions are appalling. This statement is a serious mischaracterisation of the trial process against the 14 men, and it is risible to claim that a protester like Mujtaba – who never even saw a lawyer – received a fair trial. Governments close to Saudi Arabia – including the Trump Administration and the UK – must urgently call on the Kingdom to halt these executions.”

According to Reprieve, English translations for the Saudi documents linked in their press release can be arranged via request. Reprieve’s London office can be contacted on: alice.gillham@reprieve.org.uk, or +44 (0)7792 351 660.

Free Troy Davis! Stop the Barbaric Death Penalty

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order yesterday denying the cert appeal from Georgia death row prisoner Troy Davis for a new trial. Convicted of killing a Savannah policeman in 1989, since his trial seven of the nine eyewitnesses who testified in his trial have recanted their testimony. There was no physical evidence connecting Davis to the shooting, so the eyewitness testimony was key.

According to the CNN report:

The human rights group Amnesty International USA, however, condemned the court's decision.

"The Supreme Court's decision is truly shocking, given that significant evidence of Davis' innocence will never have a chance to be examined," said Larry Cox, the organization's executive director....

Prominent figures ranging from the pope to the musical group Indigo Girls have asked Georgia to grant Davis a new trial. Other supporters include celebrities Susan Sarandon and Harry Belafonte; world leaders such as former President Jimmy Carter and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu; and former and current U.S. lawmakers Bob Barr, Carol Moseley Braun and John Lewis.

Jeralyn quotes more from Amnesty's Cox:

“Faulty eyewitness identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, and the hallmark of Davis’ case. This was an opportunity for the Court to clarify the constitutionality of putting the innocent to death – and in Davis’ case, his innocence could only be determined with a new hearing or trial."

As in the highly controversial case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Davis was found guilty of killing a policeman. Cops, prosecutors and courts close ranks when it comes to this kind of crime, and the innocence of the accused is not as important as the fact that someone must pay, and pay in blood, for the death of an agent of the state.

Just like their buddy allies in Saudi Arabia, which "executes an average of more than two people a week - almost half... foreign nationals from poor and developing countries," the U.S. leadership in its majority protects its machinery of legal death, as a way of terrorizing the population, and to legitimate its rule by brute force. Born in the racist privilege of the slaveholder to torture and execute his "property," and in the brutal, public spectacles of the execution of the poor for petty crimes that entertained Victorian England, the death penalty is a barbaric legacy of the past.

I ask that my readers support Amnesty International's call for a moratorium on the death penalty, as a bare minimum of action against this sick practice. For more information on Troy Davis's case and how to support him, see troyanthonydavis.org and freetroydavis.com. On the Mumia case, see freemumia.com and partisandefense.org.