The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) invites everyone to attend the sixth session of the trial of its co-founders, human rights activists, Abdullah al-Hamid and Mohammed al-Qahtani

On Saturday 24 November 2012, at 9  in the morning, the sixth session of the trial of human rights activists Abdullah al-Hamid and Mohammed al-Qahtani will be held in Riyadh criminal court. The court is located in King Faisal street, West of SAMA building. The hearing will take place in hall number (10) at the appellant court building next door, main entrance  is through the north gate, just south of old Riyadh water tower. 

ACPRA calls on independent journalists, human rights advocates, lawyers, law students, concerned citizens, and political reform activists to attend the hearing in support and affirmation of the principle of public trials.  Moreover, attendants will have the opportunity  to monitor the trial process, evaluate the performance of the judiciary and prosecution, and measure objectively the state-run media. Saudi state-run media attended the fifth session
of the trial. However, presence of independent journalists is quite crucial to impartially  inform the public of what really happens inside the court room.

Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)

In Saudi Arabia: The Legitimate Contract of Allegiance To Rulers Has Requirements.

 Dear Fellow Citizens: Let Us Demand The Allegiance Conditions.

Signatures began: Monday, 18 June 2012.

1- All authoritarian rule is illegitimate, even more so when it is an apartheid and despotic regime.

An authoritarian ruler is one who lacks a legitimate claim to power, i.e. disregards the requirement of consultation (Shura), and violates the legitimate role of a ruler as being just. Any rule that does not involve consultation with constituents is illegitimate and goes against the prophet's tradition. This illegitimate
authoritarian rulers use the phrase "Islam is our constitution", and they are either unaware of its meaning or they purposefully use it in order to fool people by using religion. Legitimate Allegiance (Bay'ah) in Islam is between the people and their ruler. This contract delegates power to the ruler and is meant to be representative in nature, so that the people choose whom they see fit to rule. This contract is also meant to assure rights and obligations, without the people forfeiting their will. Rather, it is a mere delegation of responsibility to preserve the country and the faith, the
power delegated to do so ought to be at the most minimum of levels. Thus, the ruler is responsible for and to the people, rather than the people being the ruler's livestock and property that is inherited continuously by the ruler's family.

The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)

Calls for a 48-Hour Hunger Strike on Thursday (March 15th)

and Friday (March 16th, 2012) in Solidarity With Its Arbitrarily

Detained  Co-Founder Mohammed Saleh al-Bjady, HR Activist

Who Has Been in a Hunger Strike Since February 22nd 2012.

March 7, 2012.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Saleh al-Bjady, a leading Saudi human rights activist and co-founder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), has been arbitrarily detained by the Ministry of Interior (MOI) since March 21st 2011. Mr. al-Bjady was targeted because MOI wanted to silence his voice after he uncovered the unfortunate killing of a Yemeni expatriate, Sultan Abdu al-Doais, who died under torture in the Directorate of General Investigation
(DGI) prison in Qassim province (300 km North of Riyadh, the Saudi capital). In addition, Mr. al-Bjady was previously detained in 2007 because he encouraged and supported the families of political prisoners in their attempt to force Saudi authority to adhere to its own promulgated law (the law of the criminal procedures).

Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) Condemns in the strongest possible terms the Arbitrary Arrest of the team behind “Mal3ob3lena” (We are being cheated)  show on YouTube: Feras Baqna, Hussam al-Drewesh, and Khaled al-Rasheed.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) condemns the arbitrary arrest of great young Saudi men (Feras Baqna, Hussam al-Drewesh, and Khaled al-Rasheed) the team directing and producing the “Mal3ob3lena” show, which airs its short films on YouTube. A few days ago, this show aired a short film on poverty in Saudi Arabia and was filmed in Al-Jaradeya, a poor neighborhood in Riyadh. The film
contained realistic scenes, interviews, and comments that are all considered familiar to the majority of Saudi society. The Saudi government itself has acknowledged the poverty issue we’re facing, and a few years ago King Abdullah himself, may he have good health, visited the neighborhood not far from the one in which “Mal3ob3lena” was filming. Why the sudden sensitivity from the Ministry of Interior (MOI) towards filming and airing a film on the problem of poverty by young Saudis on the Internet? It seems that MOI is trying to control the new internet media, and by arresting
these great men MOI is attempting to intermediate other young Saudis not to undertake similar projects.

The Systematic Human Rights Violations by the Directorate of General Investigation (The Ministry of Interior) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

From the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) to the Director General of the                   Directorate of General Investigation (The
Minister of Interior), Regarding His Responsibility in Illegal Detention and Torture.

Date: Saturday, August 13, 2011

Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

CC: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud

CC: The Crown Prince, Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

CC: The Minister of Interior, Prince Nayif Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

General Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Huwairaini, The Director General  of the  Directorate of General Investigation (The Minister of Interior)

ACPRA is addressing you in a serious matter that concerns the general public.

The Board of Grievances Issued A Verdict Against The Directorate

Of General Investigations (DGI) In Thamer Al-Kathar's Arbitrary Detention Case

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Wednesday, June 8 2011.

          The first administrative circuit court in the Riyadh Board of Grievances ruled that Thamer Al-Khathar, human rights activist, has been arbitrarily detained by the DGI (MOI), and he must be freed soon. The court verdict was based on article (114) of the Saudi Criminal Procedure Law, which states:

Those who seek fairness from the Saudi justice system is tantamount to jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

The Saudi judiciary has become one of the tools of state-sponsored terror. Who deserves to be prosecuted peaceful activists or the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution?

The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) condemns the massacre of justice in the trial of peaceful constitutional reform and civil society advocates, aka the "Jeddah prisoners." Moreover, ACPRA reiterates its call to immediately
and unconditionally release of all peaceful activists because they overstayed the maximum remand limit allowed under the statute.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia                               

Monday, May 23rd 2011.

ACPRA Condemns The Arbitrary Detention

of Its Co-Founder: Mohammed Salih Al-Bjady,

and Demands His Immediate Unconditional Release

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Thursday, March 24, 2011.

            On the evening of Monday, March 21 2011, Mr. Mohammed Salih Al-Bjady was arrested by the Directorate of the General Investigation (DGI) in Buraydah, Qassim Province, located 300km North of Riyadh, the Saudi capital. A large
group of armed special forces surrounded his home, blockaded all roads that lead to Al-Bjady's house, he was then taken by the authority in handcuffs and manacles. Mr. Al-Bjady then was taken to his office in downtown Buraydah where agents searched his business office thoroughly for several hours while he was accompanying them in shackles, this is clearly an attempt to humiliate him and tarnish his reputations. This arbitrary detention of a well-known human rights activist flagrantly violates the Saudi Basic Law of Governance and the Law of the Criminal Procedures. Unfortunately, the Ministry
of Interior (MOI) and DGI's agents have become outlaw by arresting individuals without legal due process of the law. It is ironic that ordinary Saudis demand rule of law, while MOI and DGI violate the law.

ACPRA Declares Its Full Support

To The Legitimate Demands of Women’s

Sit-In on Front of the Ministry of Interior,
Strongly Condemns Suppressing Freedom of Expression
Which Manifested Itself in Besieging, Arresting, and Detaining

Peaceful Demonstrators in Riyadh Police Department

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Monday, February 7 2011

On Saturday, February 5, 2011, nearly fifty ladies gathered on front of the Ministry of Interior’s building in Riyadh. They were holding signs that say "free our prisoners or try them in a fair public court", They were referring to their fathers, husbands, brothers, or sons who were arbitrarily held in prison under the pretext of "anti- terrorism campaign." They have been imprisoned for several years, even up to a decade, without charges or a fair and public court trial. In many cases, the accused spent
long years in prison even after they had served their jail terms, as sentenced by court.

ACPRA Applauds the Tunisian Popular Revolution,

Condoms Offering Sanctuary to the Deposed Tunisian Tyrant

Zine Elabidine Bin Ali

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Friday, January 21, 2010.

        The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) salutes the revolution of freedom and dignity in the Republic of Tunisia, and congratulates all Tunisians for the victory and success of their revolution.  People of Tunisia are now liberated of the clutches of absolute despotism they had endured for the past twenty three years, and
they are now free of oppression, injustice, and corruption that destroyed human dignity. Moreover, ACPRA asks God’s mercy to fallen heroes, especially Mohammed Bouazizi, who sacrificed their lives so millions of Tunisians could breathe breezes of freedom.

Due to the ongoing Egyptian triumphant popular revolution, and the preoccupation of international media to follow up the course of its events, ACPRA decided to postpone the hunger strike, which is  to be held on Thursday and Friday, February 10 and 11, 2011.  Meanwhile, we will continue to collect the names of detainees and the names of those who want to participate in the hunger strike.

ACPRA Calls for A 48-Hour Hunger Strike
to End Arbitrary Detention, Demand Rule of Law, and Show Solidarity with Arbitrary Detention Victims in Saudi Prisons

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

January 19, 2011

In the light of the absence of rule of law, lack of judiciary independence, and the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution failure in carrying out its duties in defending the rights of the accused; arbitrary arrest has become the norm without legal bases. The Ministry of Interior (MOI) has become the judge, jury, and executioner.
 MOI is adamant in arresting Saudis and expatriates for many years without charging them or putting them on fair court trials. Instead, MOI insisted in holding secret court trials in spite of local and international human rights organizations vociferous objections. In several issued statements, ACPRA shows that secret court trials lack minimum standards of justice where  coerced confessions extracted under tortures become admissible in MOI-administered Special Criminal Court (SCC).

ACPRA Calls For: First, Sacking The Saudi Minister of Interior, Prince Nayef Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.  Second, Prosecuting Him, His Accomplices:  Directorate of General Investigation (DGI) Officers, Interrogators, Prison Wardens, and Judges For Systematic Human Rights Violations. Which Amount To Crimes Against Humanity, Because It Is A Fundamental Reason For Global Terrorism
Phenomenon. 

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011.

To The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

CC: To The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Deputy, HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, The Crown Prince and Minister of Defense and Aviation.

ACPRA Condemns MOI's Arrest of Professor Al-Abdulkareem

A Press Release For Immediate Actions
About The Arrest of Professor Mohammed Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim, A Known Human Rights Activist in Saudi Arabia.


Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Monday, December 6, 2010.

The Directorate of  General Investigation (DGI, the Ministry of Interior) arrested Professor Mohammed Abdullah Al-Abdulkareem in Riyadh at noon on Sunday, December 5 2010. Professor Al-Abdulkareem is a member of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), the editor-in-chief of the Nation Congress Journal, a member of the Arab
Organization for Human Rights, and Professor of Jurisprudence, Faculty of Islamic Jurisprudence, Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.

The Public Sit-in Has Been Canceled

On Tuesday December 21 2010, the public sit-in organizers were summoned to the Ministry of Interior (MOI). They were informed that the sit-in request was refused without providing further legal justification preventing peaceful assemblies and protests.

Accordingly, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) announces the cancellation of the public sit-in. We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest appreciations to everyone who contributed to this activity and to the signatories of the petition. We look forward to their continuing cooperation in other events in the near future,
God willing.

ACPRA Calls For All Saudis To Participate In A Public Sit-in To Demand Political Reform: The Intended Sit-in Will Take Place On December 23  2010 In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saturday, November 13, 2010.

Dear Fellow Citizens: As The Proverb Goes: ‘No Right Will Be Lost As Long As People  Continue To Fight For Their Rights’

The Following Twenty Rights,

ACPRA Legally Challenges MOI’s Arbitrary Travel Bans In The Court of Grievances:

A Call For All Those Banned From Travel Without A Court Order In Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

            The travel ban illicitly imposed by the Saudi Ministry of Interior (MOI) is a flagrant violation of international law, which clearly states: “Everybody has the right to leave and return to his country in a complete freedom.” Moreover, the arbitrary travel ban conspicuously contradicts Article 13 (2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that states: “ lang="EN">Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.” Furthermore, other international human rights conventions- such as  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights- which declares that: “Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.”  The travel freedom has been also stated in the Arab Charter On Human Rights (2004), which has been signed and ratified by the government of Saudi Arabia, Article 27(1) clearly argues: “No one shall be arbitrarily or unlawfully prevented from leaving any country, including his own, nor prohibited from residing, or compelled to reside, in any part of his country.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Critics Say Saudi Antiterror Effort Nets Activists

Human-Rights Groups Charge That Some Detained Suspects Aren't Militants but Members of a Growing Civil-Rights Movement

By MARGARET COKER

AUGUST 30, 2010