Saudi Authorities must Reveal the Fate of Mohamed bin Ali Al-Hazmi
“Together for Justice” has expressed its strong denunciation of the increasingly repressive practices of the Saudi regime against intellectuals, writers, and opinion holders, amid complete disregard for international covenants and international human rights laws.
According to informed sources, the security services arrested the academic Mohamed bin Ali Al-Hazmy, last Wednesday, after raiding his house in the southern city of Abha and taking him to an unknown detention facility until now, and without revealing the reasons for the arrest or the charges against him.
The violations started with a large security force of 24 people who raided and searched the house, and left it in a state of chaos, then arrested the sheikh and took him to an unknown location.
Mohamed bin Ali Al-Hazmi is a Saudi academic, works as a professor of Arabic language and literature at King Khalid University, and has great contributions to social and humanitarian work, and enjoys a great reputation in society.
It is worth noting that Al-Hazmi is the brother-in-law of the detained preacher Musa Al-Qarni, and he was taking care of his family and all its affairs until Al-Qarni was released, however, now the two families lost their breadwinner to take care of their needs.
Musa Al-Qarni, the opposition academic, was arrested on February 2, 2007, in the city of Jeddah with a number of his friends. They were charged with disobeying the ruler and plotting to overthrow the ruling regime in what was known as the “rest cell” case or “Jeddah reformists”, where he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in a trial that lacked all fair trial standards.
The “rest cell” or “Jeddah reformists” case dates back to 2007 when nine people met in the room of lawyer Issam Basrawi, including Dr. Saud Al-Hashemi, to discuss the project of establishing a human rights association concerned with spreading human rights awareness of the citizen.
They called it the public Peaceful National Assembly, but the security authorities arrested and charged all of them only for trying to call for political reform and the promotion of democratic principles.
Below are the names of the detainees and the sentences handed down against them:
• Saud Mukhtar Al-Hashemi: 30 years imprisonment and a ban on travel for another 30 years after his release, and a fine of two million riyals.
• Abdulaziz Al-Khuraiji: 22 years imprisonment, a travel ban for another 20 years, and a fine of one million riyals.
• Musa Al-Qarni: 20 years imprisonment and a ban on travel for another 20 years.
• Suleiman Al-Rashudi: 15 years imprisonment and a travel ban for another 15.
• Abdul Rahman Khan: 20 years imprisonment and a ban on travel for another 20.
• Issam Basrawi: 10 years imprisonment and a ban on travel for another 10 years.
• Seif El-Din El-Sharif: 10 years imprisonment and a ban on travel for another 10 years.
• Fahad Al-Qurashi: 10 years imprisonment and a ban on travel for another 10 years.
• Abdul Rahman Al-Shamiri: 10 years imprisonment and a ban on travel for another 10 years.
We confirm that Mohamed bin Ali al-Hazmi was subjected to a clear violation of his freedom, as there is no evidence provided against him.
We also warn of subjecting him to any humiliating or cruel treatment to force him to confess to crimes he did not commit, to be used against him in unfair and politicized trials.
Finally, we call on the relevant UN bodies to intervene urgently to pressure the Saudi regime to reveal the fate of Al-Hazmi and all those who forcibly disappeared in Saudi Arabia and to ensure that they all obtain their basic rights and be tried in fair trials.
