RIYADH, 27 November 2007 — Officials from Saudi Arabia’s governmental Human Rights Commission (HRC) as well the private human rights body, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), brought to the attention of a visiting US congressional delegation yesterday issues of harassment of Saudi students studying in the United States.
HRC President Turki Al-Sudairi, Zuhair Al-Harithi, HRC spokesperson, as well as HRC board members participated in the encounter. NSHR Vice President Muflih Al-Qahtani and other members of that group were also present. Al-Sudairi and Al-Qahtani held a 40-minute meeting with the visiting delegation at the Shoura Council yesterday.
“The HRC informed the US congress delegation that many Saudi students were being harassed, mistreated or faced discrimination at airports or from US security officers,” an HRC spokesperson told Arab News.
Under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 11,000 Saudi students are currently studying at American universities, which is the largest Saudi student body of any country outside of the Kingdom.
Al-Harithi told Arab News that the shortness of the meeting and the several topics raised from both sides did not allow both parties to elaborate on these issues.
The Saudi rights groups also protested the notorious American detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which Saudis said continued to inflict “inhumane” treatment on prisoners.
“The HRC delegation informed the US delegation that the detention camp should be closed since it defies the Geneva Convention and international agreements on prisoners of war,” the HRC spokesperson said, echoing calls by the UN and the EU. “They furthermore noted that the prisoners detained there were being held without trial and have not been treated as prisoners of war in accordance with international agreements.”
HRC officials told the delegation that Saudis released from the detention camp were tried according to Shariah and released afterward. He also mentioned that the released detainees were rehabilitated, referring to Saudi Arabia’s much-publicized program to rehabilitate detainees who have never been formally charged with any crimes but who languished in Guantanamo for years.
According to the HRC, other topics such as employment of women in Saudi Arabia and the issue of women not being allowed to drive here were also raised in the discussions by the US side.
