JEDDAH, 28 February 2005 — Many prisoners in the Kingdom have been behind bars without trial for long periods, according to Saleh Al-Khathlan, a member of the National Society of Human Rights. He called for the establishment of courts near prisons to speed up judicial procedures.
“There are people detained on various charges whose cases have not been transferred to courts. One third of the prisoners in one region of the Kingdom belong to this group,” Al-Riyadh Arabic daily quoted Khathlan as saying. He said such practices went against the country’s penal code.
“We have received complaints that some defendants have been kept in prison for a year without trial,” Khathlan said.
He attributed the situation to a lack of coordination between prisons and judicial authorities as well as to bureaucratic procedures.
“In some cases, hearings were postponed because documents were incomplete and defendants then had to wait up to three months for the next hearing,” he pointed out.
He stressed the need to release prisoners who have completed their jail terms. Khathlan said many expatriates remained in prison even after the completion of their jail sentences because their sponsors failed to turn up and pay deportation charges. He called for regulations which would force sponsors to pay the charges.
Lt. Gen. Ali Al-Harithy, director of prisons, said that deportation of non-Saudi prisoners was possible if measures were taken to make sure they did not return to the Kingdom. He said the proposal would be considered in order to reduce pressure on Saudi jails after a system to take fingerprints has been prepared.
Khathlan emphasized defendants’ right to appoint lawyers. “We have received complaints from some detainees that they have not been allowed to appoint lawyers to defend them. This is a clear violation of the Criminal Procedure Law,” he added.
Saudi Arabia has passed a series of regulations to ensure a fair and balanced legal justice system. The Law of Procedure Before Shariah Courts, passed in September 2001, regulates the rights of defendants and legal procedures.
In addition to granting defendants the right to legal representation, the law outlines the processes by which pleas, evidence and experts are accepted by the court.
The 225-article Criminal Procedure Law, passed in May 2002, determines the rights of defendants and suspects before the courts and police. The law protects a defendant’s rights with regard to interrogation, investigation, and incarceration and also grants the defendant access to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution.
Members of the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution are to ensure through visits that the rights of defendants and persons in custody are protected. The law also outlines regulations that justice and law enforcement authorities must follow during all stages of the judicial process from arrest and interrogation to trial and the implementation of verdicts in order to ensure that the judicial process is fair and balanced.
The Kingdom’s Basic System of Government contains the principal guarantees of human rights; it stipulates that: the State shall protect human rights in accordance with the Islamic Shariah (Art. 26); no one may be arrested, detained or restricted in his freedom of action except as provided by law (Art. 36). Homes are inviolable and may not be entered without permission from the occupants nor may they be searched except in circumstances which are permitted by law (Art. 37); punishment is personal, there is no crime or punishment except as defined by law or regulations and penalties may be imposed only in respect of acts committed subsequent to the entry into force of the instrument under which they are designated as offenses (Art. 38).
