*
Amnesty International Saudi Arabia Campaign End secrecy - End Suffering AI: Saudi Arabia Campaign - End Secrecy - End Suffering
Amnesty International * * *
 
REPORT
o Saudi Arabia: A secret state of suffering

ISSUES
o Index

o torture

o death penalty

o migrant workers

o political prisoners

o military, security and police relations

BRIEFING
End Secrecy End Suffering

COUNTRY INDEX:
o Saudi Arabia

OTHER LANGUAGES:
o French
o Spanish

HOME:
o Saudi Campaign
o Amnesty
AI Index: MDE 23/04/00
Saudi Arabia - Hani al-Sayegh

Hani al-Sayegh
Deported, detained, denied basic rights

Hani al-Sayegh, a Saudi Arabian, fled to the USA to seek asylum. On 10 October 1999 he was forcibly returned home, two days after the US authorities stated that he "was not entitled to remain in this country and that his removal to Saudi Arabia was appropriate". On his arrival in Saudi Arabia he was detained. He was initially held incommunicado. After 10 days his wife and his two young children were informed of his whereabouts and were allowed to visit him in the presence of security officers.

Hani
Hani al-Sayegh © Private
Hani al-Sayegh continues to be held in al-Ha'ir Prison in Riyadh in connection with the bombing of a US military complex at al-Khobar in June 1996 which left 19 US servicemen dead. He has not been granted access to a lawyer. He has no opportunity to challenge the legality of his detention.

Before his deportation the US authorities stated that they had received assurances from the Saudi Arabian government that Hani al-Sayegh would not be tortured, but they did not specify what these assurances were or how they conformed to safeguards required by the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Amnesty International believes that Hani al-Sayegh is currently at risk of torture and that he may be sentenced to death after a secret and summary trial.

The government of Saudi Arabia has given no indication that Hani al-Sayegh's trial will not be held behind closed doors as is common practice. It has not said when the trial will start, or whether international observers will be allowed to attend. It has ignored requests for visas submitted by Amnesty International delegates who were hoping to attend the trial. Given the serious structural defects of the criminal justice system in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International fears that he may face execution by beheading after an unfair trial.

appeals appeals appeals
Muhammad Muhammad al-Hayek
Death in custody
Hani Hani al-Sayegh
Deported, detained, denied basic rights
appeals appeals appeals

What you can do

Please write, calling for clarification of the legal status of Hani al-Sayegh. If he is not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence, he should be released. If he is charged he should be granted immediate access to a lawyer and a fair trial in accordance with international standards. Send your letters to:

    His Majesty King Fahd bin 'Abdul 'Aziz
    Office of H.M. The King
    Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin 'Abdul 'Aziz
    Minister of the Interior
    Ministry of the Interior
    PO Box 2933, Airport Road
    Riyadh 11134, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

*