According to the Kingdom’s law, anyone who has been arrested for a crime should either be charged or released. In spite of this, some people are kept in police custody without charge or trial.
These delays are thought to be caused by investigators and judges. According to Muhammad bin Saud Al-Jodlani, an eminent jurist who read a paper at the Riyadh seminar, such delays are widespread.
“The delays begin from the moment an accused is taken into custody for questioning. The subsequent questioning and investigations take a substantial amount of time, sometimes over a year,” he said.
“It is only when these procedures are completed that court proceedings can begin. It also happens that some judges are unaware of the actual time the accused has already spent in jail. When the verdict is passed the judge assumes the person in question has only been in police custody from the time court proceedings began and he only takes this into consideration,” Al-Jodlani added.
Yousuf Al-Faraj, another Saudi jurist, and Abdul Mohsen Al-Musaad, a legal expert, disagree with Al-Jodlani. They are of the view that such incidents are uncommon.
“Making generalizations is wrong in view of the fact that there are no precise statistics. We need to carry out a comprehensive study to ascertain the number of such cases and the actual reasons behind these delays,” said Al-Faraj.
Khalid Abdullah Al-Dawud, a judge at the Court of Grievances, is of the same view. He underlined the need to expedite court proceedings for those involved in petty crimes.
“There have been cases in which those accused of taking bribes of SR100 and SR200 had to remain in custody for three or four months before appearing in court,” Al-Dawud said.
Referring to major reasons that lead to delays, Al-Dawud said those responsible include the police, the public prosecution, prison authorities and judges.
“Inaction on the part of any one of these agencies could lead to prolonged court proceedings, even if the case involves a petty crime,” he said, adding that insufficient number of qualified court translators is another reason behind some delays.
The failure of public prosecutors to appear at hearings was also blamed for the delay in some cases. Jail authorities have also been blamed for not ensuring the defendants appear in court on time.
“Sometimes, the accused are brought to court handcuffed and there are no keys to free them. In such cases judges refuse to carry on and postpone the hearing,” said Al-Jodlani.
He added that another factor is the failure of police to produce in court suspects who have been previously released on bail. “In such cases, the judge is forced to postpone the trial to another date,” he said.
Col. Ali Al-Qahtani, a senior police official who presented a paper at the event, said investigators often face unexpected situations that result in delays in preparing charge sheets.
“These include delays in getting laboratory results, past criminal records or absconders,” he said.
Participants at the seminar made recommendations to resolve the issue and expedite court proceedings.
Al-Faraj said there is a need to educate people and launch an awareness campaign.
“There is no justification in detaining suspects even for one hour without substantial evidence. It is absolutely unjustifiable to keep suspects in detention for longer than absolutely necessary,” he said.
Al-Dawud agreed. “The concerned authorities from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Prison Directorate and the General Prosecution and Investigation Board should research the matter and remedy the problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, Al-Musaad called for prosecuting those responsible for unjustifiable delays, emphasizing delayed justice is a denial of justice.
Al-Faraj suggested the Kingdom’s criminal procedure system take cue from what Singapore is doing such as video conferences to speak to criminals and avoid undue delays.
“The Human Rights Commission and other organizations should follow up on such cases and intervene to speed up the proceedings,” he said.
Col. Al-Qahtani called for the setting up of courts in prisons to avoid problems in transporting detainees to hearings far away from the courts.
