[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA

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For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa04512.pdf

UA 45/12
Date Issued: 9 February 2012
Country: Saudi Arabia

THREE AT RISK OF IMMINENT EXECUTION
Three men may be at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia for drugs offences. They have
exhausted all their appeals and could be executed in the coming days.

Saudi Arabian nationals Qassem bin Rida bin Salman al-Mahdi, Khaled bin Muhammad bin Issa al-Qudaihi
and Ali Hassan Issa al-Buri, were arrested in July 2004 on suspicion of smuggling drugs. On 2
October 2005, the General Court in Qurrayat in the northern province of al-Jouf sentenced Qassem bin
Rida bin Salman al-Mahdi and Khaled bin Muhammad bin Issa al-Qudaihi to death, while Ali Hassan Issa
al-Buri received a sentence of 20 years in prison and 4,000 lashes. All three appeared not to have
had access to a lawyer in pre-trial detention and during their trial, and some reportedly made
"confessions" under duress. An appeal was submitted to the Court of Cassation in Riyadh, which twice
ordered the General Court in Qurrayat to commute all three sentences. Instead, the General Court
upheld its verdict and amended Ali Hassan Issa al-Buri's sentence to the death penalty. In 2007 the
Supreme Judicial Council upheld the death sentences in all three cases and referred them to the
King, who is believed to have ratified the sentences. Their executions could take place at any time.

According to Article 6 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to
which Saudi Arabia is a state party, "in countries that have not abolished the death penalty,
sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes…" Drugs-related offences do not
meet the threshold of "most serious crimes", according to the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of
the rights of those facing the death penalty, adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
on 25 May 1984 and endorsed by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 1984. These safeguards require
that the scope of crimes punishable by death "should not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or
other extremely grave consequences."

Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:
- Urging the King to halt the execution of Qassem bin Rida bin Salman al-Mahdi, Khaled bin Muhammad
bin Issa al-Qudaihi and Ali Hassan Issa al-Buri;
- Calling on the King to commute the death sentences and those of all others under sentence of death
in Saudi Arabia as a matter of urgency, with a view to abolishing the death penalty;
- Reminding the authorities that, pending full abolition, they should act in accordance with
international minimum standards and limit the use of the death penalty to "most serious crimes",
which do not include drugs-related offences, and should abide fully with the UN Safeguards
guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, which state that capital
punishment may only be imposed after a fair trial in which the defendant is provided with "adequate
legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings".

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 22 MARCH 2012 TO:

KING
His Majesty King Abdullah 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)
011 966 1 403 3125 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Majesty

Crown Prince and Minister of 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: 011 966 1 403 3125 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Royal Highness

And copies to:
Governor of Al-Jouf Province
His Highness Prince Fahed Bin Bader bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Sakaka, al-Jouf Province
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Email: 61300 at aljouf.gov.sa

Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 944 5983
Email: info at saudiembassy.net

Please check with AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
So far this year, at least six people have been executed in Saudi Arabia, three of them for
drug-related offences. Amnesty International is seriously concerned about over 100 prisoners who are
currently known to be under sentence of death in the country.

Amnesty International has recorded some 80 executions for 2011, around triple the figure of 27 for
2010. In 2009, at least 69 people are known to have been executed, in 2008 at least 102, and in 2007
at least 158.

Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences. Court proceedings fall far
short of international standards for fair trial. Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation
by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them.
They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress or deception.

In a report published in 2008 on the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International
highlighted the extensive use of the death penalty as well as the disproportionately high number of
executions of foreign nationals from developing countries. For further information please see Saudi
Arabia: Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia (Index: MDE 23/027/2008), 14 October 2008:http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/saudi-arabia-executions-target-foreign-nationals-
20081014

Name(s): Qassem bin Rida bin Salman al Mahdi (m), Khaled bin Muhammad bin Issa Al-Quadaihi (m), Ali
Hassan Issa al-Buri (m)
Issue(s): Imminent execution, Legal concern
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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action
date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan at aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/uan
Phone: 202.509.8193
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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