The International League Against Arbitrary Detention urges the Government of Saudi Arabia to take all the necessary actions to implement the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinion No. 10/2024 concerning Muhammad Al-Ghamdi. The WGAD calls on the Government of Saudi Arabia to immediately and unconditionally release Muhammad Al-Ghamdi and to accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.
Read the full WGAD Opinion concerning Muhammad Al-Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia): Opinion No. 10/2024.
DETENTION SOLELY AS A RESULT OF THE EXERCISE OF HIS FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION
Muhammad Al-Ghamdi is a citizen of Saudi Arabia born in 1968. He is a retired teacher and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree.
On 11 June 2022, Mr. Al-Ghamdi was arrested by a detective of the Saudi security services in front of his home. During the first four months of his detention, Mr. Al-Ghamdi was allegedly interrogated while being held in solitary confinement and incommunicado. On 26 June 2022, Mr. Al-Ghamdi was charged under different provisions of the Counter-Terrorism and Financing of Terrorism Act of 2017, which notably forbid the disruption of the monarchy and public order, as well as the support to a terrorist group and to its ideology. These charges directly emanated from the use of Mr. Al-Ghamdi of social medias to express his opinions and concerns regarding the Government's oppression and corruption, the rights of detainees, unemployment, and the high cost of living in Saudi Arabia.
On July 10, 2023, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced Mr. Al-Ghamdi to death. Allegedly, his file was forwarded to the appeal court for review, as required by law. At the time of the source's communication to the Working Group, there had been no development in this appeal process, and Mr. Al-Ghamdi was being detained in Dhahban prison.
The Government was given the opportunity to answer these allegations, which it did on 3 January 2024.
The source first emphasised that Mr. Al-Ghamdi’s arrest was to be understood in the broader context of the adoption of counter-terrorism legislation in 2014, following which a repressive arrest campaign reportedly targeted citizens and activists on charges related to freedom of opinion and expression. On this matter, the Working Group concurred with previous UN observations which found that this said legislation has indeed been regularly used to criminalize a wide spectrum of acts falling within the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association, as well as freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Besides, the Working Group noted that the Counter-Terrorism and Financing of Terrorism Acts lacked legal certainty.
Concerning Mr. Al-Ghamdi specifically, the source noted that his online expression, viewing of videos, and engagement on social media were the sole reasons for which he had been arrested and detained. According to the source, this is visible in the charges brought against him, the questions he was asked during his interrogations, as well as his trial judgement. To these allegations, the Government answered that though free speech was a protected right, the actions taken by Mr. Al-Ghamdi were terrorist offences. Considering the above, the Working Group concluded that Mr. Al-Ghamdi had been arrested and detained for having exercise his legitimate right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes expressing opinions that are critical of or not in line with government policy. As such, the Working Group found that Mr. Al-Ghamdi's right to freedom of opinion and expression, enshrined in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, had been violated.
Therefore, the Working Group considered that Mr. Al-Ghamdi's detention was arbitrary under category II.
DEPRIVED OF THE RIGHT TO FAIR TRIAL AND DUE PROCESS
During Mr. Al-Ghamdi’s detention, he has repeatedly been denied access to a lawyer, starting with his four months detention in solitary confinement and incommunicado detention, despite the fact he was interrogated. The confessions made during these interrogations were later used during the trial. Following this, he was not afforded a lawyer until December 2022, which was six months after his arrest, and even then, the State-appointed lawyer, for fear of reprisals, reportedly refused to recognize Mr. Al-Ghamdi’s diagnosed mental health conditions or the possibility these diagnoses might assist in his defense. Since his attorney was dismissed in March 2023, from March to May 2023, Mr. Al-Ghamdi was without legal representation until his case was referred to the Specialized Criminal Court, after which he was not permitted regular access to his lawyer. Considering this, the Working Group found that Mr. Al-Ghamdi's right to legal assistance at all times was violated, though inherent to his rights to liberty and security of a person and to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal. As such, the Working Group concluded that articles 3, 9, 10 and 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been violated.
Besides, this situation of restricted access to a lawyer during his detention, interrogation and upon instruction, as well as his lawyer’s inability to call witnesses, submit medical reports and request a medical referral during the trial proceedings, affected Mr. Al-Ghamdi's ability to prepare and present a defense. Considering the Government's answer insufficient, the Working Group found this situation had thus further violated his rights to equality of arms, to adequate time to prepare a defence and to a fair hearing, enshrined in articles 10 and 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Moreover, according to the source, the Specialized Criminal Court is be known to target and prosecute individuals expressing opinions or criticisms of the Government. On this matter, the Working Group recalled its earlier findings concerning this Court, especially its lack of independence regarding the Ministry of the Interior - a concern shared by the Committee against Torture. Therefore, the Working Group considered that Mr. Al-Ghamdi’s right to be tried in an independent and impartial tribunal, guaranteed by article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, had been violated.
According to the source, Mr. Al-Ghamdi was denied access to his family via physical, verbal, or written contact while detained, and was transferred to a prison 945 kilometers from his family. Though this was denied by the Government, the Working Group found that this situation was in contravention with various international standards, including the Body of Principles and Nelson Mandela Rules.
With respect to Mr. Al-Ghamdi’s four-month solitary confinement, the Working Group recalled that over 15 days of solitary confinement risk to cause irreversible harmful psychological effects, and that such measures should be ones of last resorts, and accompanied by certain safeguards. In this case, Mr. Al-Ghamdi indeed severely suffered from this situation. Besides, the Government did not demonstrate that any safeguards were put in place, nor did it justify its use of solitary confinement for such a long period, in violation of its own domestic legislation. Additionally, Mr. Al-Ghamdi was denied medical care and medication, resulting in a deterioration of his health. Altogether, the Working Group considered that the above had significantly undermined Mr. Al-Ghamdi's ability to defend himself properly, further violating his right to a fair trial.
Consequently, the Working Group concluded that the violations of Mr. Al-Ghamdi's rights to a fair trial and due process were so severe that it rendered his detention arbitrary under category III.
CONCLUSIONS OF THE UN WORKING GROUP AGAINST ARBITRARY DETENTION
In light of the foregoing, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that the detention of Muhammad Al-Ghamdi was arbitrary and fell under categories II and III because the deprivation of his liberty was in contravention of articles 3, 9, 10, 11 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Working Group recommended that the Government of Saudi Arabia take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Muhammad Al-Ghamdi without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms. The Working Group also requested the Government to bring its laws, particularly the Counter-Terrorism and Financing of Terrorism Act, into conformity with the recommendations made in the present opinion and with the commitments made by Saudi Arabia under international human rights law. The Working Group urged the Government of Saudi Arabia to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Al-Ghamdi and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.
The Working group considered that, taking into account all circumstances of the case, the appropriate remedy would be to release him immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.
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