ties. First the strangulation of human rights, and now the website of the international human rights organization Amnesty International, which has been blocked in the country after the organization leaked the draft of a new draconian Saudi law whereby a peaceful protest will also be considered an act of terrorism.On Friday, July 22, 2011, Amnesty International, through its website, made public the new draft of Saudi Arabia’s Penal Law for Terrorism Crimes and Financing of Terrorism. According to the would-be law, disagreeing with the government’s policies or decisions even in a nonviolent manner would also be reckoned as terrorism. And if it weren’t enough, anyone who questions the integrity of the ‘royals’ will be locked up for ten years minimum. In addition, the accused could be held in extended detention by the authorities without charge or any trial.
Amnesty International pointed to the apparent connection between the Saudi king’s rule and the chain of protest going on in other Middle Eastern countries questioning the non-democratic forms of government and demanding for radical reforms. Amnesty International notes that by broadening the definition of terrorism, the Saudi government means to suppress dissent and not combat terrorism in the country. The bill was reviewed by a government committee in Saudi Arabia in June 2011 and it’s not clear when it’s going to be turned formally into state law.
The Associated Press reports that Amnesty International’s website was blocked on Monday (July 25, 2011) in Saudi Arabia after it made available the full Arabic text of the proposed law on its website. A while after the website was blocked, the organization shifted the law’s text to one of its blogs that hasn’t been blocked in the Saudi kingdom yet. The blog also tells about the Saudi move to cut access to Amnesty’s website. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, dismisses Amnesty’s criticism of the new law, saying the latter is meant only to let security forces deal with terrorism.
The report of the Associated Press doesn’t miss noting that the Saudi government is cautious of the Shia minority of the country, a sect that is the archenemy of fundamentalist Wahabi regime that has been ruling Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the United States, also sent troops to the neighboring state of Bahrain to suppress the revolt of the Shia majority that is being ruled by a Sunni (pro-Wahabi) minority.