Saudi reformer detained, Washington demands open trials
Saudi Arabia, Politics, 10/7/2004

The Saudi Arabian authorities detained the secretary general of the National Islamic Meeting in al-Ihsaa area, Muhanna Bin Abdul Aziz al-Dakhil. Figures in al-Ihsaa area in the Kingdom announced one week ago the "foundation of the National Islamic Meeting for the region and set its objectives to support the unity of the rank between al-Ihsaa social strata and also the Kingdom.

In this context, the judge of "urgent issues" in Riyadh postponed the case pertinent to the detained citizen Mubarak Saeed al-Zaer for two weeks in order to permit his lawyer to prepare answering accusations addressed to his client.

The attorney general accused al-Zaer, who has been detained since 6 months, of acts of violence in Saudi Arabia and doubting the nationalism of the security forces and collecting support for the case of his father, clergy Sheikh Saeed al-Zaer, whom the general court in Riyadh sentenced in September to five year imprisonment. The lawyer in charge of defending Mubarak al-Zaer said that he could not prepare a defense to the accusations of the attorney general to his client because the security forces could not prepare a meeting for him with his client to prepare a defense.

Meantime, Washington called for an open trial to three Saudi reformers after their trial was postponed after the persistence of the accused not to have the trial session in close doors. An official at the US Department Of State expressed hope that open trial will be resumed and Riyadh to admit the right of citizens to self expression of their views freely.

Each of Matrouk al-Faleh, Ali al-Dumeini, and Abdullah al-Hamid have been tried under the charge of calling for the creation of a constitutional monarchy and using "western expression" in their requests to make political change in the Kingdom in a patition addressed to the Saudi crown prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz.

The list of accusations addressed to them includes destabilizing the Kingdon and investing the attacks that recently took place in order to achieve political gains. News rumored on preventing relatives of the accused men from entering the hearing session last Monday. The three men were arrested in mid March and their trial started on August 9th.

Previous Stories:
  Gulf activists start their campaign to release reformers   (10/5/2004)
  British lawyer calls for the detention of the Saudi minister of the interior   (9/10/2004)
  Trial of three Saudi reformers postponed   (8/24/2004)
  Riyadh: an advertisement campaign in 19 American states on being a US ally   (8/18/2004)

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