LONDON (The Independent) – Prisoners held for opposing the government in Saudi Arabia are being murdered, sexually assaulted and inflicted with “sheer” brutality, a new report suggested.
The study, carried out by Grant Liberty, a human rights charity, identified 311 known prisoners of conscience in the era of Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud –the kingdom’s leader who is the current Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence.
Researchers, who shared the report exclusively with The Independent, claimed that 53 prisoners have been tortured, while six were sexually assaulted, and 14 were pushed into undergoing hunger strikes.
The report looked at the plight of 23 women’s rights activists, 11 of whom were still behind bars, as well as also identifying 54 journalists.
Some 22 of the prisoners were arrested for crimes that they carried out when they were still children – five of them were put to death. An additional 13 were facing the death penalty, while four had died in custody.
Lucy Rae, of Grant Liberty, told The Independent, “Sadly the abuse of the prisoners of conscience continues as the world watches on, women are subjected to sustained and brutal violations with no basic human rights.”
“We call upon the kingdom to back up its statement of being a ‘modern and progressive country’ with actions and release innocent individuals who were disappeared, were arrested and subjected to sham trials,” Rae stated.
“Imprisoning, torturing and abusing an elderly mother such as Aida al-Ghamdi because her son has sought asylum surely is abhorrent and wrong in any nation,” Rae added.
Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, a political and human rights activist who is the son of al-Ghamdi, said he escaped Saudi Arabia after being threatened for campaigning against authoritarian policies in the Middle Eastern country.
His mother, Aida, and two of his brothers were arrested after he left, he added.
“They were arrested not because they had committed a crime, but because of my activism,” al-Ghamdi, whose situation is explored in the report, stated.
He noted he felt an “indescribable feeling of longing” over the fact his mother is in prison in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ghamdi, who lives in the UK, added, “For over three years, my dear ageing 65-year-old mother and my younger brother have been held by the Saudi royal family. They have been held in solitary confinement and subjected to physical torture by cigarette burning, beating and lashing.”
“MbS [Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud] and the Saudi royal family are holding her hostage demanding that I return to Saudi Arabia to face torture and imminent death so that people like me who stand for justice, equality and a fair society are silenced like those before me,” he noted.
He urged the “world, the UN and every single person with a voice” to speak out against “this outrageous behavior”.