Unjust Verdict issued against Abdul Rahman Al-Doweish
Together for Justice organisation strongly condemns the two-year prison sentence against Saudi detainee Abdul Rahman Al-Doweish، stressing that it is unjust and arbitrary, as it was issued following trials that lacked the minimum standards of justice, including denying Abdul Rahman from appointing a lawyer.
On February 03, The Court of Appeal in Riyadh upheld the two-year prison sentence against Doweish, issued by the Specialised Criminal Court on December 09, 2021 in a secret trial, in which the family or the media were denied entry.
Abdul Rahman was arrested about four months ago, after attempting to find out the fate of his father, the forcibly disappeared Sheikh Suleiman Al-Doweish, by communicating with the Public Prosecution and Badr Al-Asaker – Director of the Private Office of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for Special Affairs.
A few days later, the son was arrested only to share the same fate of his father.
Since his arrest on October 18, 2021, Abdul Rahman has been subjected to a series of human rights and legal violations at the hands of security and judicial agencies. He was interrogated without a lawyer, and according to private sources, he was forced to sign a confession of crimes he did not commit.
More than a month after his arrest, Abdul Rahman was transferred from the hospital to Malaz prison on Sunday, November 28, after being placed in intensive care for two weeks following the deterioration of his health while in solitary confinement.
Sources revealed that Abdul Rahman was brought to a secret trial on November 5, 2021, without informing his family or legal representative.
His father, Sheikh Suleiman Al-Doweish was arrested in April 2016, for publishing a series of tweets criticising the current policies of the ruling regime.
Furthermore, Abdul Rahman’s brother, Abdel Wahab Al-Doweish, was arrested in August 2021, and until now. His family does not know anything about him or his place of detention.
We call on the international community to take more serious stances againstــ the Saudi regime and to intervene to put an end to these violations, and to save Al-Doweish family, which is being subjected to abuse and collective punishment.
We also call for urgent international intervention and for opening investigations into the violations suffered by political detainees in Saudi Arabia, the formation of an international committee to examine the conditions of their detention and trials, and to reveal the fate of all forcibly disappeared persons and to ensure a fair trial for all detainees.
