Reporter jailed in Saudi Arabia for 'annoying others'

 

[caption id="attachment_12263" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Reporters Without Borders"][/caption]

Editor - All over the world there have been numerous incidents
involving reporters lacking freedom to do their work, arrested, and imprisoned,
incidents challenged by Reporters Without Borders now advocating for release
of an activist - writer  in Saudi Arabia.




Reporters Without Borders is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of
Sheikh Mekhlef bin Dahham al-Shammari, a writer, human rights activist and
social reformer who was arrested on 15 June and who has yet to be taken before
a judge.


His arrest is believed to have been prompted by his criticism of political and
religious leaders, especially in articles posted on the Saudiyoon
(www.saudiyoon.com) and Rasid (www.rasid.com) news websites. The main charge
listed in his case file is the fanciful one of “annoying others.”


“This is far from being the first arbitrary detention in Saudi Arabia but this
case borders on the ridiculous,” Reporters Without Borders said. “If they are
holding Al-Shammari just for upsetting or annoying people, then a lot of Saudis
are going to end up in prison.”


The press freedom organization added: “His arrest is a blow to free speech and
belies the Saudi government’s claims, to the United Nations in particular, that
it is making progress on human rights. The international community must press
for the release of Al-Shammari, a person committed to human values and entirely
praiseworthy causes.”


Al-Shammari has been arrested several times in recent years, in part because of
his defence of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority. This year, his articles
criticising the conservative interpretations of Islam promoted by Saudi
officials led to his being arrested on 15 May and then released on bail. His
latest arrest took place on 15 June in Jubail. He was transferred to Damman
prison at the start of this month.


Ibrahim Al Mugaiteeb, the founder and head of the Human Rights First Society,
said that, prior to this arrest, Al-Shammari had given him a special power of
attorney to defend him. “Mr. Al-Shammari’s arrest is illegal. The
prosecutor-general’s office has no evidence against him. His detention is a
flagrant violation of freedom of expression.”


Al-Shammari often writes about poverty and unemployment, accusing the
government of ignoring these problems because it is obsessed with public
morality and keeping men and women apart. He has also highlighted the
government’s failure to promote tourism and its discrimination against the
Shiite minority.


Although a Sunni, he was very critical of the influential Saudi preacher
Mohammed al-Arifi for referring to one of Iran’s most respected Shiite clerics,
Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, as an “obscene atheist.”