RIYADH, 30 December 2007 — The year 2007 is considered by all means a spectacular year for human rights in Saudi Arabia, which saw, in a gesture of kindness and humanity, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah pardoning a young woman, known as the Qatif Girl, who was gangraped by seven men.
The Supreme Judicial Council had sentenced the 20-year-old rape victim to six months and 200 lashes for being with an unrelated male. The pardon, which was welcomed by people across the Kingdom and the world, signaled King Abdullah’s wisdom, as the leader of the Kingdom, to put the public’s interest first.
The Qatif Girl’s case has been one of the most talked about human-interest cases in the Kingdom over the past year, touching the hearts of citizens and residents. The case was particularly poignant because of the intensity of the brutal crime and the sentence. According to the judges, the woman was to be sent to prison for having been the main cause of what happened — she had allegedly gone to collect old photos from a non-related male friend while in wedlock.
Another local human rights topic, which was publicized in the Kingdom last year, was the case of the forceful divorce of Fatima and Mansour. A lower court annulled the couple’s marriage on tribal backgrounds, a ruling that was later upheld by the Cassation Court, the Kingdom’s appeal court.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the woman’s half brothers, claimed that Mansour had lied to their father about his tribal background when proposing to marry Fatima. They later realized that the information he had provided was incorrect and asked for the court to forcefully divorce the couple.
Following the ruling, Fatima has refused to return to anyone but her husband’s home. She is currently living in a woman’s shelter and Mansour has been given two gag orders preventing him from talking to the press. The court ruling came after Mansour had fathered two children with Fatima, who is his second wife.
In spite of tribal sensitivity, the Human Rights Commission (HRC), a Saudi governmental rights body, has reviewed the case and officials are currently trying to find a solution to the problem by raising it with senior Saudi officials.
In addition, one of the most anticipated events of the year was the publishing of the first human rights report in Saudi Arabia, published by the non-governmental National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).
The 67-page report is the first ever to be published by a rights body inside the Kingdom and highlighted not only the basic principles of human rights in the Kingdom, but also listed a plethora of rights violations.
The report, which was unbiased and vivid, did not shy away from mentioning flaws by governmental bodies regarding human rights. It mentioned the situation in Saudi prisons, the situation of non-Saudis, inequality in job opportunities for locals, discrimination against Saudi women, labor violations, domestic violence, and flaws in the Saudi judicial system.
The HRC and the NSHR have stated publicly that they are studying ways to abolish the current sponsorship law and replace it with another one, which would be less problematic for officials and residents.
According to NSHR Chairman Bandar Al-Hajjar, despite the report receiving a lukewarm response from government bodies, many citizens in the Kingdom have called for the eradication of the violations listed in.
Both rights bodies have received tens of thousands of complaints from citizens and residents, since they were established under a Royal Decree two years ago. Most complaints received by the HRC were related to disputes and violation of rights in governmental sectors, while the majority of complaints handled by the NSHR were related to domestic violence, labor abuse and sexual abuse.
Last July, the NSHR investigated reports of sick prisoners in Saudi jails who, contrary to the Saudi law, are being kept in prison and not released. The investigation came after news was released about the death of an Indian cancer patient, who died in prison in Riyadh.
The NSHR is also preparing a law, which would guarantee the rights of HIV positive people to education, equal opportunities, employment and social participation. The law would also ensure that people with AIDS would not be subjected to discrimination. The law is in its final stages, which would be then sent to the King for approval.