UN experts call for release of Saudi businessman sentenced to death

Today, the WGAD issued an Opinion on the case of Saud al- Faraj, a Saudi businessman who was sentenced to the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. It found his detention to be arbitrary and called for his immediate release. According to the Working Group,  al Faraj’s detention lacks any legal basis, stems from the exercise of his rights and freedoms, severely violates his due process rights, and is discriminatory as it is based on his religion.

Saud al-Faraj took part in the 2011 anti-government protests in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia. He was violently arrested in December 2019 after refusing to cooperate with authorities and was convicted in 2022 by the Specialised Criminal Court of namely, participating in protests, running a terrorist cell, and killing a police officer. His conviction was based solely on a forced confession extracted under torture. Al-Faraj was later sentenced to death by the same court in November 2022.

In December 2023, MENA Rights Group and ESOHR represented Saud al-Faraj and submitted a complaint to the WGAD and requested the group of experts to issue an Opinion on his case.

Ever since, he has been held in the General Prison in Dammam where he has been subjected to severe acts of torture in order to extract a forced confession from him.  The Working Group considers that the representing organisation have presented credible allegations that al-Faraj was subjected to torture, unlike the governments summary response. They highlight that the use of a forced confession is contrary to article 15 of the Convention against Torture.

In its Opinion, the Working Group also found that he has been subjected to solitary confinement for 21 months. According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, subjecting an individual to prolonged periods of solitary confinement amounts to an act of torture.

Importantly, the Working Group highlighted that al-Faraj was charged and sentenced on the basis of the 2017 Counter-terrorism Law, which lacks legal certainty and contains a vague and broad definition of a terrorist crime. UN Special Procedures had previously expressed their concern regarding this law in a communication to the government of Saudi Arabia. The Working Group itself considered that this law violates the principle of legality. According to the Working Group, such vaguely formulated laws “enable arbitrary interpretation” and “cannot be regarded as consistent with the Universal Declaration [of Human Rights]”. ]”. In the Opinion on al-Faraj, the WGAD cited the communication of the Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism regarding this law and concurs with its finding that the law has “enabled the criminalization of a wide spectrum of acts of peaceful expression.” This law has repeatedly been used to issue death sentences, including against minors who have been sentenced for protesting in the Qatif region against the discriminatory treatment of Shi’a minorities in Saudi Arabia.

Finally, the Working Group has highlighted that there is a concerning pattern of persecution and long-standing history of discrimination against the Shi’a religious minority in the Qatif region in Saudi Arabia. Considering that al-Faraj belongs to the Shi’a community and that his sentence is to his participation in the protest movement taking place in 2011 in the mainly Shi’a Eastern Province, the WGAD found that his detention is discriminatory as it is based on his religion.

In light of the above, the Working Group requested the government of Saudi Arabia to take action and inform the Working Group on whether al-Faraj has been released, whether an investigation has been conducted into the violation of al-Faraj’s rights and, importantly, “whether any legislative amendments or changes in practice have been made to harmonize the laws and practices of Saudi Arabia with its international obligations in line with the present opinion”.

MENA Rights Group and ESOHR welcome the WGAD’s Opinion and strongly echo their conclusion that the detention of Saud al-Faraj is arbitrary and violates international human rights standards. Furthermore, we reiterate the Working Group’s call on Saudi Arabia to immediately release him and to revise its draconian Anti-Terrorism Law, in accordance with international human rights standards. We also call on Saudi authorities to reverse his death sentence and work towards introducing a moratorium on the death penalty.