Saudi Arabia demands Hariri killers’ arrest ‘for the sake of justice’

Saudi Arabia demands Hariri killers’ arrest ‘for the sake of justice’
A picture taken on August 18, 2020 shows a sign in front of the building of the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) at Leidschendam. (File/AFP)
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Updated 17 June 2022

Saudi Arabia demands Hariri killers’ arrest ‘for the sake of justice’

Saudi Arabia demands Hariri killers’ arrest ‘for the sake of justice’
  • ‘Evil’ Hezbollah agents given life sentences by UN-backed tribunal over deadly 2005 bombing
  • 2005 bombing had killed 21 other people and injured 226.

BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia on Friday welcomed the unanimous verdict handed down by a UN-backed court for Lebanon against two Hezbollah agents for their role in the 2005 bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and called on the international community to help arrest the perpetrators “for the sake of justice.”

On Thursday, the Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon sentenced Habib Merhi and Hussein Oneissi to five life sentences each for carrying out the bomb attack that killed Hariri and 22 others and left 226 people injured.

However, the two men were sentenced in their absence and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group and political movement, has refused to hand over the pair or a third man, Salim Ayyash, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2020.

Outlining the court’s decision, presiding judge Ivana Hrdlickova said that both Merhi and Oneissi were aware that Hariri would be killed in the attack, and added that the sentences reflected the “evil nature of terrorism.”

Saudi Arabia later called on “the international community to fulfill its responsibilities toward Lebanon and its people, who are suffering from the absurd terrorist practices of the Iranian-backed militia.”

It demanded “the implementation of the international resolutions relevant to Lebanon and the prosecution of the perpetrators who deliberately contributed to the loss of innocent lives, causing unprecedented chaos in the country.”

The Kingdom called for “their arrest for the sake of justice, and to defuse the crises experienced by Lebanon and its people over the past few decades due to their terrorist practices.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Appeals Chamber said that “the crimes for which Merhi and Oneissi were convicted were extremely serious and that the aggravating circumstances set out by the prosecution in the indictment were proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Norman Farrell, the tribunal’s prosecutor, said that the attack targeting Hariri “caused incredible pain and suffering to many victims and their families.”

Efforts by the Hezbollah agents “to deceive the public, protect themselves from justice and remain unaccountable have failed,” he added.

However, the prosecutor said: “It is not the last step toward accountability. Justice requires their arrest. I call on those who protect the three accused from justice to hand them over to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. I also call on the international community to take any steps available to assist in their arrest.”

The verdict issued by the cash-strapped tribunal on Thursday may well be one of its last acts.

Lebanon has stopped funding the UN-backed forum, which is estimated to have cost at between $600 million and $1 billion since its opening in 2009.

The trial file of Salim Ayyash for related offenses against Lebanese politicians in 2004 and 2005 remains before the court.

A Lebanese judicial source told Arab News that “the latest verdict is supposed to be communicated to the Lebanese Ministry of Justice in order to allow the competent security services to prosecute convicts wherever they may be and to engage Interpol.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said the verdict condemns “Hezbollah as responsible for organizing and carrying out the crime, and as being the party that cannot evade responsibility for extraditing the convicted and carrying out the verdict.”

He added: “History will not be merciful.”

Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the verdict “proves once again the validity of our tendency to resort to international legitimacy to seek truth and justice in the assassination of Rafic Hariri and his companions.”

Bahaa Hariri, the eldest son of Rafic Hariri, said: “We found out the full truth and we are waiting for justice to be achieved. It should encourage us, the Lebanese, to be more united, and to safeguard the sovereignty and stability of our country.”


Next Arab League summit to be held in Saudi Arabia on May 19

Next Arab League summit to be held in Saudi Arabia on May 19
Updated 15 min 14 sec ago

Next Arab League summit to be held in Saudi Arabia on May 19

Next Arab League summit to be held in Saudi Arabia on May 19

The 32nd Arab summit is expected to be held in Saudi Arabia on May 19, a statement by the League of Arab States said on Sunday.

The summit will be preceded by several meetings over the period of five days between senior officials and ministers.  

Later this year, an Arab Development Summit will be held in Mauritania, and the Arab-African Summit in Saudi Arabia, the statement said. Dates are yet to be announced. 


Hollywood scriptwriter participates in Qur’an recitation contest

Hollywood scriptwriter participates in Qur’an recitation contest
Updated 26 March 2023

Hollywood scriptwriter participates in Qur’an recitation contest

Hollywood scriptwriter participates in Qur’an recitation contest
  • Palestinian-American Yasser Omar Shaheen wows viewers with melodic voice, distinctive recitation

RIYADH: Palestinian-American contestant Yasser Omar Shaheen, a Hollywood film and television scriptwriter, was a participant in the latest episode of the international Qur’an recitation and adhan competition.

Shaheen entertained the viewers with his melodic voice and distinctive recitation of the Qur’an.

The “Otr Elkalam” TV show, which is being supervised by the General Entertainment Authority and is broadcast on MBC1 and the Shahid digital platform, has a total prize pool of SR12 million ($3.2 million).

Shaheen said: “My life is a mixture of memorizing and reciting the Holy Qur’an and writing scripts in Hollywood, where I have supervised the production of more than 130 programs, produced 14 documentaries, and contributed to several shows on TV channels of Arab and Islamic countries.”

He enjoys teaching Muslim children the verses of the Qur’an and the rules of intonation in mosques in Dallas, Texas. Shaheen also works as a faculty member at San Jose University in California.

Several competitions resulted in his participation in “Otr Elkalam” and its first episode featured 32 contestants from around the world.

It also focused on last year’s winners of the Qur’an recitation and adhan competitions, Younes Gharbi from Morocco and Mohsen Kara of Turkiye, respectively.

The “Otr Elkalam” competition is designed to highlight the rich diversity of cultures in the Islamic world, and the vocal methods of reciting the Qur’an and raising the call to prayer.

More than 50,000 entrants from 165 countries were whittled down to 50 for the final stage, which is held in Riyadh.

Another selection process by the main jury then left 32 contestants, 16 for each competition.


Finding treasures at the Islamic Arts Biennale’s Al-Matjar in Jeddah

Finding treasures at the Islamic Arts Biennale’s Al-Matjar in Jeddah
Updated 26 March 2023

Finding treasures at the Islamic Arts Biennale’s Al-Matjar in Jeddah

Finding treasures at the Islamic Arts Biennale’s Al-Matjar in Jeddah
  • Sustainability key to the concept store; more than 620 rare, custom-made items on display

JEDDAH: Visitors to the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah can pick up Ramadan-themed items and intricate works of art at the on-site Al-Matjar concept store, a retail space developed by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation.  

“The biennale store is never, ever the same. We change it every week. The only constant is that you’ll see is the Diriyah Foundation merchandise,” Dalia Al Akki, the store representative, told Arab News.

According to Al Akki, the DBF hopes the shop can become one of Jeddah’s new cultural destinations. It aims to have something for everyone — and allow them to take a bit of the Biennale’s “Awwal Bait” (First House) theme back home with them.

“The idea of this collaboration is that the Diriyah Foundation wants to open a platform to support digital artists. It’s like a marketing tool for us to use their illustrations and create merch with them, or stationery, or puzzles,” she said. “We didn’t want to just do merchandise this year; we wanted to really enhance this idea of collaboration.”

Since the biennale is a temporary exhibition, the idea was to create tangible items that people can take back home with them.

The Islamic Arts Biennale store in Jeddah features a wide range of themed and customized products that visitors can buy as mementos. (Photos by Diriyah Biennale Foundation)

After thorough research, they reached out to around 180 brands, of which 95 made it to the shelves. Since the DBF is a non-profit organization, it was obligated to use the space as a launching pad for brands and to cultivate creativity.

“Some of these items are very rare and very beautiful, and soon they’ll be collectible,” Al Akki said proudly.

HIGHLIGHT

The store prioritizes collaborating with brands that focus on sustainability, and many of the over 620 items are rare and custom-made. According to Dalia Al Akki, every item in the store will be reused, including the wayfinding flags that will be repurposed into tote bags later.

It was always meant to be a pop-up shop, which is perhaps part of the allure. If you like something, pick it up and buy it instantly or it might be gone. Maybe forever. Many items were custom-made for the shop and won’t ever be sold anywhere else.

The galag garage exclusive capsule collection created in collaboration with the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. (Photo/Instagram/ @galag.co)

There’s one section that is distinctly pre-owned. It is dedicated to selling secondhand books and Al Akki hopes this will help shift people’s perception of pre-owned and think of it as ‘pre-loved.’

“We know a guy that collects books from all over the region, so we really wanted to add that in,” she explained. “A lot of artists actually just buy books and end up throwing them. A lot of people in the Kingdom don’t know the value of these books. But for us, secondhand books are still valuable. We even have vintage magazines.”

She said that she has been surprised by the popularity of the secondhand books and have had to replenish their stocks.

The Islamic Arts Biennale store in Jeddah features a wide range of themed and customized products that visitors can buy as mementos. (Photos by Diriyah Biennale Foundation)

“We also work with a lot of product makers (who focus on) sustainability. Nothing in the store is going to be thrown away; everything is going to be reused — even the wayfinding flags; we are actually taking them and making tote bags out of them for next year,” she said. “We are supporting local and international artists and sustainability is a main goal.”

It was crucial for the curation of the products to be inclusive of different countries and styles, as well as price ranges, and to provide something that non-Muslims could buy too.

“What’s amazing about the whole idea of this pop-up store is that we really get to know the community — beyond the Kingdom. We can’t wait for the (next Biennale cycle) because there’s so many places you could go. I mean, this was limited, challenging, but definitely worth it,” Al Akki said. “We’ve learned, we’ve grown, we’ve met many beautiful people along the way.”

The Islamic Arts Biennale store in Jeddah features a wide range of themed and customized products that visitors can buy as mementos. (Photos by Diriyah Biennale Foundation)

One of those people is Sultan bin Mohammed, the shy-but-charming millennial leader of the Galag Garage clothing brand (Galag translates to “nuisance”).

He was proud to take part in this pop-up store in his hometown of Jeddah and is shaking up the shop — one stitch at a time.

The filmmaker and entrepreneur showed Arab News his exclusive capsule Galag collection, created in collaboration with the Diriyah Biennale Foundation store. Rows of durable-but-soft hoodies, t-shirts, tote bags and caps with the word “Galag” written in Arabic using the custom biennale font and typography.

“They (Diriyah Biennale Foundation) wanted really to represent the structures in the Hajj terminal. So I wanted to recreate that, but give a bit of a retro-wave design,” he told Arab News.

He also added elements that are distinctly ‘Galag,’ such as images of vintage cars.

“We wanted something that’s wearable, has a bit of style, has a bit of weight to it — something that people would be happy and comfortable with. We decided to do very simple but high-quality material with interesting colors,” bin Mohammed told Arab News.

Most of those color inspirations were derived from local nature. The sandy hoodie has a bit of saturated blue that pops — meant to represent the sky. The white hoodie, in contrast, was meant to be muted.

“Every color choice here is meant to look better with age; so the longer we wear it, the better it looks — that was the concept,” he said.

Like Al Akki, bin Mohammed was adamant that he wanted to produce something that would last.

“Sustainability is a huge thing. We really wanted to use something that lasts — something that you can wear for years, maybe put in your closet then bring it out and it still keeps its shape; it keeps the quality and it doesn’t disintegrate,” bin Mohammed said.

He was also keen to have the date incorporated into the t-shirts. “It’s the first Islamic Arts Biennale and to have the date on it to commemorate it was really important. I think it’s really cool to have a piece of history. It’s great that we’re a small part of that,” said bin Mohammed.

 


Saudi Arabia marks earth hour by turning off street, tower lights

Saudi Arabia marks earth hour by turning off street, tower lights
Updated 26 March 2023

Saudi Arabia marks earth hour by turning off street, tower lights

Saudi Arabia marks earth hour by turning off street, tower lights

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia on Saturday participated in Earth Hour, the largest environmental event in the world, by urging all sects of society, in all regions, governorates and their affiliated centers, as well as various governmental and private agencies to take the initiative to mark the event by turning off the public street lights without harm to public safety.

Ajlan Al-Ajlan, the head of Saudi Earth Hour, said that the Kingdom participates with the world in this great environmental event and is in solidarity with all efforts aimed at sustaining and protecting the ecosystem, by turning off the lights of some streets and towers in various parts of the regions and governorates, for a period of one hour, starting from 8:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m..

Al-Ajlan called on all members of society to preserve the environment from everything that negatively affects it and human life by avoiding bad practices, which generate serious complications, such as pollution and the spread of diseases and epidemics.

The Saudi Vision 2030 adopts a comprehensive plan to preserve the environment and protect the planet, which stimulates interaction with one of the largest environmental events, and the world’s participation in Earth Hour.


Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief calls for strengthening efforts to combat mines

Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief calls for strengthening efforts to combat mines
Updated 26 March 2023

Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief calls for strengthening efforts to combat mines

Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief calls for strengthening efforts to combat mines

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aid agency on Saturday called for strengthening efforts to combat mines, protecting lives, building the capabilities of workers in this field in the affected countries, and alleviating the suffering of those affected, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

The comments were made by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center as it participated with the international community and UN and international organizations in raising awareness of the dangers of mines to mark International Day for Mine Awareness.

As part of its efforts in various countries around the world, KSrelief was keen to cover all vital sectors in the humanitarian field to include education, health, shelter, water and other important sectors. 

It also implemented huge qualitative humanitarian programs that contributed to positive results in the field of humanitarian work, including the “Masam” project to clear Yemeni lands of mines, and the prosthetic limbs program, which contributed to protect hundreds of thousands of lives in Yemen. 

Despite the dangers they face, the teams of the “Masam” project managed to extract nearly 400,000 mines of all shapes, types and sizes in various Yemeni regions since the launch of the project in 2018 until mid-March 2023.

The prosthetic limb centers also provided more than 142,000 services, including the installation of prostheses, and cases of technical and physical rehabilitation (physical and psychological treatment) for the injured in order for them to be productive people, able to work and lead their normal lives. 

45,588 individuals benefited from them in the governorates of Taiz, Aden, Marib and Sayun from Jan. 1, 2020 to Feb. 28, 2023.