29 April 2007
"The Feb.2007, Arrests in
Professor Matrook Alfaleh
To
All, Worldwide,
Human Rights & Civil Society's Organizations, including
UN-Council on Human Rights
As well as to
Public Figures & Media
Searching for & Seeking Truth
First I would like to briefly introduce my self to whom it may concern :
I'm, Matrook Alfaleh, one
of three,of the so-called Advocates of " Constitutional
Reform & Civil society's " ( the other two are : Dr.Abd-Allah
Al-Hamid, and a poet, Mr.Ali
Al-Dummaini ), who were jailed, in Saudi Arabia,
March - 16-2004, and sentenced unjustly( May -15-2005 ), under the Influence
& direction of Ministry Of Interior, just because we, signed two reform's
documents ( paper petitions ), in both of which we peacefully demanded &
called upon the Saudi authority ( Saudi leadership ) to introduce a
constitutional reform in Saudi Arabia. The three men, along with other
reformers & supporters, - ( including ; our lawyer Abd-Alrahman
Al-Lahim, Mohammed Saied Tayeb, Dr.Abd-Alhameed Mubark, Mohana Alfaleh, Issa Al-Hamid, Khalid Al-Omair, Najeeb Khunaizi,
Ali Gathami, and still others …etc.), and other
figures, like, Dr.Saeid Zuaier
& two of his sons(Mubark & Saad), and Mr.Ibraheem Mu***teeb, and not to mention
hundreds of other cases which have received no publicity ) -, still up to date (April
2007 ) have been banned from travel.
Second, in response to frequent inquiries as to my view on the issue of
the Feb-2007 arrests in Saudi Arabia, as well as to making some points &
comments on what have been circulated in media and other statements or articles
elsewhere, as they relate to the latest arrests ( Feb-2-2007 ) in Saudi Arabia,
several points need spelling out :
A- I would like to say and assure you that I know personally most, if
not all the men being arrested. All of them are activists for civil society
& democratic reform in
For those who signed one or both reform's documents, this is true for:
1-Issam Basrawi, a well-known lawyer in
2- Dr. Abdul-Rahman Shumairy,
a 2006-retird professor At Um-Algura University (
3-Sulieman Al-Roshodi, a fired judge
because of his role in announcing the creation of the so-called, the “Legitimate Committee for Human Rights
in Saudi Arabia" back in 1993, and he was among those of reformers
jailed in March 2004, and after his release has joined our lawyers' team,
during & after our trials (2004-2005). He signed and strongly supported
both.
4- Dr. Mosa Al-Garni,
A retired professor at
5-Al- Shareef Saif-Aldeen
Faisal Al-Shareef,( of Al-Ashraf
Family which used to govern al-Hijaz Region ) &
currently A businessman, signed, the second, above-mentioned reform document,
in a second lists of names, that were supposed to be published in a later
stage, but because of March-2004 arrests never sent officially.
As for the other guys being arrested, this includes : # 6-Dr.Abd-Alaziz
Al-Khuraiji, who is a medical doctor &
businessman, and ; # 7- Saud Al-Hashmi, a medical Professor at King Abd-alaziz
university (Jeddah).Both men have supported political reform as well as civil
society approach . Moreover. Dr, Saud
Al-Hashmi visited me and my colleague Dr. Abd-Allah Al-Hamid three times
After our release and took part in discussions in our “civil Society Diwanyah (a weekly open, but not officially licensed,
meeting, arranged by Dr. Al-Hamid and me in Riyadh ),
and assured both of us that he supported civil society approach &
constitutional reform, and since then he has become very active in promoting
and spreading the ideas & elements of constitutional reform movement in
Saudi Arabia, through interviews& open weekly(Diwanyah
) meeting in his house in Jeddah.
As for the arrested # 8, who is Mr. Fahad
Al-Sakhry Al-Gurashi,
he is a college's student at Medina University, and he has been very supportive
of the movement of constitutional reform & civil society approach, as he
assured Dr.Abd-Allah Al-Hamid,
several times, during meetings with him, about his position . In fact, Mr. Fahad Al-Gurashi has, along with Dr.Al-Garni and Al-Roshoodi,
before their arrest, signed the latest reform document, entitled : "Milestones
in the Road to a State of constitutional Monarchy ; A State of Justice & Shora( people's participation & representation ),
put on a web site (see : www.dostor-islami.com,
or, if unable to reach, see text & names, in Arabic, in attached file ) the
very day of the group's arrest on Feb.2-2007. The newest document reform, which
is somehow an extension to the previous two ones, and which was sent to King Abd-Allah early April 2007, is calling upon the Saudi
government to adopt and introduce several democratic reform's elements,
including: independent judiciary & free election of legislature, to have
the governments' policies & officials accountable, issuing & protecting
a code of human rights & public liberties, including free speech &
expression, as well as approving & allowing the formation & working of
independent civil society organizations. The Document also called upon the
King to curtail the already overpower of Ministry of Interior, which dominates
totally over a very aspect of life in the country, by splitting Ministry of
Interior into two, one for security per se, and the other to focus in
development issues and the people's needs, and should be under a new Ministry
of local & regional government, now being under the control & direction
of Ministry of Interior . The Document also demands
that Ministry of Interior should respect the code of criminal procedures that
itself approved & as well as respecting international regional human rights
conventions & agreements that the Saudi government signed or agreed to; to
achieve this, the document demands turning, without delay, all prisoners (hundreds
if not thousands) to public open just trials .
The newest-Feb- April-2007 reform document, based on a very genuine
& progressive vision and interpretation of Islam which is very compatible
with the concept & essence of democratic state, has been signed by around 100
persons of various schools of thought & political currents, as well as of
different religions (Islamic sects) of various regions of the country,
including Shiites & Ismaelis. As for those of the
men being under arrest, and who did not sign the newest reform document, they
were actually about to sign it, but they were caught before signing it.
As for the 9th person being under arrest, along with the group, and
about whom Ministry of Interior said, in its arrest's statement, he is a
foreigner of north African origin, so as to give credibility to its
accusation that the men were pro-terrorism, facts speak differently as
follows : It is true that this guy is from Morocco, but the Ministry of
interior failed to mention that this guy, with a legal residence in the
country, under the sponsorship of Mr. Mohammed Saied Tayeb (a well-known Hijazi figure
& reformer) is a helper and and a special driver
to, Mr.Issam Basrawi,
who is a well-known handicapped person and who without this guy's help &
assistance would not be able to move any where, including going to bathroom.
In addition, other facts about the arrested- 8-men include the following:
Mr. Suleiman Al-Roshodi, Mr. Issam
Basrawi, Dr. Mosa Al-Garni, Dr. Abdul-Rahman Shumairy, and Al- Shareef Saif-Aldeen Faisal Al-Shareef were
among the team of lawyers who defended the three "constitutional reformers"
during their trials of 2004-2005 ; this true for the first two men (Al-Roshodi &, Basrawi ) for the
whole process of trials before and after the verdict and up to the release. As
for the remaining three men (Al-Garni, Shumairy, and Al- Shareef Saif-Aldeen) it is true for their participating with the
team in writing collectively the "appeal defense" to the higher court.
As for the real actions taken, or were probably about to be taken, by
the 8-men, that most likely moved the Ministry of Interior to arrest them, and
in a way to kill any serious attempt to activate any democratic & political
reform's demand, some points deserve mentioning:
a- It is somehow understood, among some reformers in the country,
especially the so-called "Constitutional Reformers" ( to which I
& Dr.Al-Hamid belong) that some of the 8-men, and
not all of them, and in a way to concretely push the democratic reform movement,
were interacting & discussing, for a while, an idea, revolving around, the
plausibility & possibility of announcing and creating a somehow
political forum (party), but the arrests seem to abort the very idea itself
.
b- It is also widely understood, among various reformers in Saudi Arabia,
including the "Constitutional Reformers" (including me & Dr. Al-Hamid), that some of the 8-men, and not all of them, were
interacting & discussing between themselves and with others, for a while,
the idea of concretely pushing the democratic reform movement as it relates to
protecting human rights activists in Saudi Arabia in case they were to be
harmed, or arrested by Saudi Authorities, through announcing and creating a "Committee
for the Protection of the Defenders of Public Liberties & Human Rights'
Activists" . But the arrests seem to target aborting the idea too.
c- - It is also widely understood, and known as fact, not only among
various reformers in Saudi Arabia, including the "Constitutional Reformers"
(including me & Dr. Al-Hamid), but also among
several Saudi families concerned with their boys & sons being under arrest
for long time by Ministry of Interior without charging & or turning them to
trials, that some of the 8-men, and especially Mr. Suleiman Al-Roshodi, Mr. Issam Basrawi, and Dr. Mosa Al-Garni, were interacting & discussing between themselves
and with several other lawyers, for a while, the idea of concretely pushing the
democratic reform movement, through legally compelling Ministry of Interior
to turn all arrested persons to open and just trials. To implement this
step the group of lawyers concerned here, including some of the 8-men under
consideration, have planned, after receiving powers of attorney, from over 40
Saudi families, to represent their beloved-arrested ones, to take Ministry of
Interior to the "Diwan Madhalim"
(that is : Grievances Department/or Court) . They were supposed to present the
case against Ministry of Interior, formally to the "Grievances Department/or
Court) the morning day (Saturday; 02- Feb- 2007) that follows their night's
arrests. To abort this action, Ministry of Interior, not only arrested them,
but stormed their houses & offices, without any respect to any laws locally
or internationally, and confiscated all "powers of attorney" as well
as documents and personal computers .
Accordingly, it is absolutely absurd that these 8- men under Arrest "are
pro-terrorism".
The terrorist charge by Ministry Of Interior is only a cover-up to hide the
real reasons for the arrests which are to suppress and kill any reform demands
& advocates under the pretext of fighting terrorists& terrorism, so as
to avoid any sympathy with them, internally as well as internationally,
especially from human rights organization as well as western governments &
public figures .By the way the so-called "Constitutional Reformers" (including
me, Dr, Al-Hamid, and Mr. Al-Dummani)
were accused publicly, too, by Ministry of Interior & its Public Attorney,
during our trials(2004-2005) that we supported & justify violence &
terrorism, and the Saudi authorities, moreover, had tried to market this charge
against us even to the UN-Commission on Human Rights, but eventually failed to
substantiate .
Final note, and as a matter of fact, and in clear violations of Islamic
laws as well as all human rights' conventions, the 8-men, now for two
consecutive months, have been imprisoned incommunicado, and they have been
unable to receive or to see their families as well as their lawyers, not to
mention that recently, Dr. Basim A-lim, their volunteer lawyer,, has been added to the
lists of no travel ) .
The Dominating General Rule, here in
Best Regards.
……………………………………….
By;
***Matrook Alfaleh
Prof. of Political Science
College of Law & Political Science
Issued:
E-mail: malfaleh@yahoo.com
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