US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday it has written to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, urging him to withdraw a draft counter-terrorism law.
The organisation said it should be removed from consideration by the cabinet because it would "facilitate serious human rights violations", HRW said in a statement posted on its website.
Human Rights Watch urged the government to consult with international human rights experts to draft a new counter-terrorism law that would protect rather than infringe on basic rights.
“The draft counterterrorism law...lumps peaceful political opposition together with violent acts and ensures that the accused won’t get a fair trial,” said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch said it received a copy of the draft law, the Penal Law for Crimes of Terrorism and Its Financing, on July 22 from a source who indicated that it was “in the last stages of discussion.”
It claimed the draft law seriously undermined human rights protections in four key areas but Saudi Arabia denied allegations made by Amnesty International about the new law.
Saudi Arabia said last month that it “would like to point out that Amnesty’s concerns about this law are baseless,” the state news service said, citing a statement from the kingdom’s UK embassy.
Islamic militants launched a serious of violent strikes in Saudi Arabia to weaken the Al Saud ruling family’s control of the world’s largest oil reserves and break the kingdom’s relationship with its US ally.
Militants targeted Western nationals in a campaign of kidnappings and bombings from 2003 until a crackdown, led by the Saudi Ministry of Interior, suppressed extremist activity.
HRW said the draft law would add 23 crimes carrying the death penalty, including acts that involve only threats of violence.
It added that the draft law "ignores the international best practices elaborated over the past five years by the United Nations special rapporteur on promoting and protecting human rights while countering terrorism".
Human Rights Watch also called on governments that have strong counter-terrorism relations with Saudi Arabia, including the United States, to urge the king to formulate a new law consistent with human rights or to reduce significantly their cooperation with the kingdom’s authorities.
Source: arabianbusiness.com, August 2, 2011
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