Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Mohammed El-Bejadi

On 6 August 2013, human rights defender Mr Mohammed Saleh El-Bejadi was released from detention in which he had been kept since his arrest during a peaceful protest in the area of Buraidah, on 21 March 2011. Mohammed El-Bejadi is a founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA).

The human rights defender was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted by the Specialized Criminal Court in April 2012 on charges including disobedience of the rulers, speaking to foreign media, incitement of demonstrations, and being a member of ACPRA. His arrest was part of a crackdown on activists and demonstrators by the Saudi Arabian government in the context of protests that were occurring in several Arab countries at the time. However ACPRA were targeted by the Saudi government even before the Arab Spring. Mohammed El-Bejadi was previously detained in 2007 due to his advocacy on behalf of political prisoners and his support for their families.

Front Line Defenders issued an urgent appeal on 13 March 2013, which focused on the conviction of another founding member of ACPRA, Mr Mohammad Al-Qahtani, who has also been detained for his human rights activities. On 9 March 2013, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, to be followed by a travel ban of equal length. The charges against Mohammad Al-Qahtani included the establishment of an unlicensed association, seeking to undermine state policies, providing false information about Saudi Arabia to the United Nations human rights mechanisms, inciting international organisations against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and undermining the integrity of the state.

Front Line Defenders welcomes Mohammed El-Bejadi’s release, but believes that the continued detention of Mohammad Al-Qahtani is directly related to his peaceful and legitimate human rights work, and urges the Saudi Arabian government to drop all charges against him as well.