After seven years of enforced disappearance, where is the Saudi Consumer Protection Association’s head?
The Saudi lawyer and activist Razin Al-Razin was arrested in the September 2017 crackdown following a large-scale defamation campaign on social media platforms, which also targeted hundreds of opponents, activists, academics, and preachers.
Razin Al-Razin is a Saudi lawyer, human rights defender, and faculty member at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University. As the head of the Consumer Protection Association’s Executive Council, he was well-known for advocating for consumers and standing up to dishonest businesses that the government supported. However, he was targeted by the government, which does not tolerate any form of dissent or criticism. As a result, he had to give up his freedom in exchange for standing up for citizens’ rights.
To date, the Saudi authorities refuse to disclose Al-Razeen’s place of detention or his detention condition. His family and lawyer were also denied access to his indictment file.
Reliable sources affirmed that Al-Razeen suffered from several violations in detention, beginning with his forcible disappearance following his arrest in 2017, and continuing with verbal and physical abuse, torture, and years of extended solitary confinement.
In a failed attempt to justify Dr. Razin Al-Razin’s September 30, 2017, arrest, state-run media outlets charged him with funding terrorist organizations.
The working group investigating arbitrary detention must act quickly to force the release of Dr. Razin Al-Razin, along with all other prisoners of conscience and those detained without a clear charge. We further urge all international organisations to send investigatory committees to the Saudi Kingdom immediately in order to guarantee that every detainee is granted their rights.
We demand that the various international regimes uphold their moral obligations under international treaties and covenants, respect human rights, and guarantee that all measures are taken to ensure that human rights are respected worldwide. We demand that any cooperation with the Saudi regime be contingent on improving the country’s human rights record and enabling its citizens to exercise their right to free expression and assembly.
We declare that the severity of the crime perpetrated against Saudi academic Razin Al-Razin by the Saudi authorities—his arbitrary arrest on the pretext of expressing his opinions—is doubled by his prolonged detention without trial.
