Activist Waleed Abulkair sentenced to 15 years in prison
Jeddah (AsiaNews) - Waleed Abulkhair, a lawyer involved in the defense of human rights
in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The activist, whom Amnesty International
describes as a "prisoner of conscience", was arrested last April
14. The condemned man has
challenged the verdict.
The sentence also includes a ban on
foreign travel for 15 years
and a fine of 200 thousand rials (about 54
thousand U.S. dollars).
The charges, all related
to his battles in defense of
human rights in Saudi Arabia, range
from seeking to undermine "the legitimacy of the State"; "inciting public opinion and insulting the
diminution of the judiciary";
"producing documents and declarations that
harm the reputation of the
Kingdom [Saudi]"; setting up
"an unauthorized association, of which he is president and spokesman."
This last charge refers to the "Monitor
of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia," which has a profile on
Facebook with thousands
of members.
The association aims to document and
criticize human rights violations,
especially in the field of justice.
Abulkhair is known
for his reformist positions for
the Saudi kingdom which is ruled
like a tribal dictatorship.
In recent years he campaigned for political
reform. Political parties are
banned in the Kingdom.
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23/08/2016 14:35
