Saudi Arabia: Saudi Court Sentences Palestinian Poet to Death

24 November 2015

RAN 13/15

PEN International protests the General Court of Abha’s 17 November 2015 decision to sentence Palestinian poet, Ashraf Fayadh, to death for apostasy. Used as evidence against him were several poems within his book Instructions Within, twitter posts, and conversations he had in a coffee shop in Abha. PEN has reviewed the trial documents and found that during his original trial in April 2014, the General Court of Abha lifted the penalty for apostasy (ridda) owing to his repentance, however, he was sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes for storing images on his mobile telephone. Fayadh has 30 days to appeal his sentence. PEN calls on the Saudi authorities to commute his death sentence immediately, and if as it appears, he is held solely on account of his views on religion which do not advocate violence to release him immediately and unconditionally.

To read extracts of Ashraf Fayadh’s poems used in evidence against him, click here.

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Please send appeals:

• Protesting the heavy-handed sentence handed down to Palestinian poet, Ashraf Fayadh, on 17 November 2015;
• Urging the Saudi Arabian authorities to release Ashraf Fayadh immediately and unconditionally if he is being held solely for his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and belief;
• Calling for Ashraf Fayadh’s death sentence to be commuted immediately;
• Urging the government to immediately commute any sentence of flogging, if as it is feared he still faces 800 lashes, as it violates the absolute prohibition in international law against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
• Calling for him to be granted access to lawyers of his choice;
• Calling on Saudi Arabia to ratify, without reservation, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Appeals to be sent to:

His Majesty
King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior) +966 1 403 3125
Salutation: Your Majesty Crown Prince and Minister of the Interior

His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Ministry of the Interior
P.O.Box 2933, Airport Road,
Riyadh 11134
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: +966 1 403 3125
Salutation: Your Excellency Minister of Justice

His Excellency Shaykh Dr Mohammed bin Abdulkareem Al-Issa
Ministry of Justice,
University Street
Riyadh 11137 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: + 966 1 401 1741 + 966 11 402 0311
Salutation: Your Excellency

Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Saudi Arabia in your country if possible and the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations (click here for contact details)

***Please send appeals immediately. Check with PEN International if sending appeals after 24 December 2015. Please send us copies of any appeals you send and of any responses you receive***

Background

Saudi-born Palestinian poet, artist, curator and member of British-Saudi art organisation Edge of Arabia, was initially arrested in August 2013, accused of ‘misguided and misguiding thoughts’ following the submission of a complaint to the Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue. According to reports, the complaint sustained that Fayadh had made obscene comments about God, the Prophet Muhammad, and the Saudi state. He was later released on bail, however, on 1 January 2014, Fayadh was re-arrested on charges of ‘insulting the divine self’ and having long hair. He has been held in a prison in the city of Abha ever since.

According to PEN’s information, during his trial held over six hearings between February and May 2014, Fayadh stood accused of numerous blasphemy-related charges, including insulting the ‘divine self’ and the prophet Mohammed, spreading atheism, refuting the Qu’ran, and insulting the King and the Kingdom, among other charges. Evidence compiled against him included at least 10 pages from his collection of poetry Instructions Within, published by the Beirut-based Dar al-Farabi in 2008 and later banned from distribution in Saudi Arabia. Also used as evidence against him were Twitter posts, and conversations he had had in a coffee shop in the city of Abha, where he lived. Fayadh was also accused of having illicit relations with foreign women for having images on his mobile telephone. English translations of the poetry used in evidence against him are available here. Other poetry by Fayadh, is available here and here.

Witness testimony reportedly claimed that the complaint submitted to the Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue was the result of a personal dispute. During the last session, Fayadh expressed repentance for anything in the book that religious authorities may have deemed insulting, stating, according to trial documents, “I am repentant to God most high and I am innocent of what appeared in my book mentioned in this case.”

According to court documents, on 30 April 2014, the General Court of Abha found proof of Fayadh having committed apostasy (ridda) and his repentance for it. The court therefore ruled to lift the penalty for apostasy, however, it sentenced him to four years in prison and 800 lashes – to be administered 50 at a time every 10 days – for storing images on his mobile telephone, and the confiscation of his telephone.

On 17 June 2015, the General Court of Abha sentenced Fayadh to death for the crime of being an infidel (kufr) following a re-trial. The court argued that Fayadh’s repentance for the crime of apostasy was a matter of the heart and should have no bearing determining whether or not the crime had been committed. Fayadh now has 30 days to appeal the sentence.

As a member of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), the pre-eminent intergovernmental body tasked with protecting and promoting human rights, and the newly elected Chair of the HRC’s Consultative Group, Saudi Arabia purports to uphold and respect the highest standards of human rights. However the decision of the court is a clear violation of the internationally recognised rights to freedom of conscience and expression. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that, ‘[e]veryone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief’. Furthermore, under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ‘[e]veryone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers’. Saudi Arabia is therefore in absolute contravention of the rights that it as a member of the UN HRC has committed to protect.

For further information, please contact Emma Wadsworth-Jones at PEN International, Koops Mill Mews, 162-164 Abbey Street, London, SE1 2AN, Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Email: emma.wadsworth-jones@pen-international.org