By: Chris Michael, Posted: Nov 6 08

Regions: Saudi Arabia

Issues: Arbitrary arrest, Detention, Freedom of opinion & expression

Tags: Detention, facebook, hunger strike, online activsm, police brutality, Saudi Arabia

Update: November 14, 2008:  

"Set the detainees free or instantly grant them fair and public trials." - Saudi hunger strikers

Arbitrary detentions, unfair trails, torture and ill-treatment are widespread and generally committed with impunity in Saudi Arabia. Though this may not be news to you, how activists are using online tools to call for justice may be... Watch this interview with Saudi journalist Ebtihal Mubarak to learn more about the background of this campaign.

Under Saudi law, one can be detained for up to six months (and up to 60 days in solitary confinement) without a formal sentencing or trial. Once detained, detainees are "commonly the victims of systematic and multiple violations of due process and fair trial rights, including arbitrary arrest and torture and ill-treatment during interrogation," according to Human Rights Watch.

However, 11 human rights activists, including a former judge and professors, remain in detention - many in solitary confinement. These activists remain in detention without a date for trial, and 10 of them have been in detention since February 2, 2007 - 642 days.

Calling for the release - or fair and public trails - of detainees is incredibly restrictive under the absolute monarch. In July 2007, the Mabahith, Saudi secret police, arrested five women who were peacefully demonstrating for the release or trial of their relatives detained for over two years without trial. Operating under oppressive restraints of freedom of expression and assembly, the activists' defense team and supporters have harnessed the power of online tools to amplify their voices and calls for justice.

Turning Online to Pressure the Kingdom

The defense teams of the 11 detainees have called for a hunger strike from November 6-7, stating on their their Facebook page that the campaign is a "daring bold move to support human rights" in Saudi Arabia. The defense team adds:

"After exerting all means to get fair treatments to the constitutional movement’s detainees, the defense teams decided to observe a 48-hour hunger strike. The proposed strike will take place on Thursday and Friday, 6-7 November 2008, in protest against flagrant human-right violations for all detainees in Saudi prisons who have been deprived of their basic rights as guaranteed by Criminal Procedure Law and Arrest and Detention Law."

The Facebook page launched with members from the defense team, family and friends, and within a few
days jumped to over 200. The combination of few freedoms to assemble, associate or express oneself publicly with reasonably high internet connectivity and 60% of the population under the age of 30 creates a unique potential to quickly mobilize action online. Word is quickly spreading in online chat rooms, social networks and the blogosphere.

Though this is not the first human rights-related campaign from the region on Facebook (take a peak at WIRED's article "Cairo Activists Use Facebook to Rattle Regime"), it is the first online hunger strike from the region that I've heard of. "It's the first time that activists are doing something like this," organizer Mohammad Fahd Qahtani says of the online campaign to the Christian Science Monitor. "Now we are using new tactics." As such, the media is starting to cover this interesting use of online media to spotlight injustice in a very restrictive state.

New Tools = New Risks: Issues of Safety and Security Online

Though the campaign sites are still accessible within Saudi Arabia, I wonder for how long - and for what purpose. Safety and security for activists online continues to be an increasing concern as the internet
reaches more people and data - from email to video - moves faster and with more intention than ever. As activists harness online tools to disseminate information to inform and mobilize for change, governments are getting savvier and more intentional in their efforts to mine data and monitor activists' activity.

Facebook, where supporters' personal information is publicly available, strikes a new level of concern. We are going to follow this aspect of the campaign in a few ways, with an upcoming interview with one of the organizers of the campaign and a
spotlight post on online safety and security; but, for now we encourage you to see some of these great resources - and help spread the word about the campaign via the links below.

Links to Learn More and Get Involved

:: See and read the latest from the defense team via their Facebook page (and the original Arabic page) or their Google groups page

:: Watch a Skype video interview with Saudi activist Mohammad Al-Qahtani, one of the organizers of the campaign

:: Listen to Maha Al-Qahtani discuss why she joined the hunger strike and how they are using online tools to call for justice

:: Read the latest from blogger saudi jeans

:: Read the annual reports on Saudi Arabia from Human Rights Watch & Amnesty International

Activists in Detention - 10 of them for 642 days (and counting)

1. Professor Matrook H. Al-Faleh, political science professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, detained by security forces in May 19, 2008.

2. Attorney Suliman Ibrahim Al-Reshoudi, former judge and human-right advocate, detained in February 2, 2007.

3. Attorney Dr. Mousa Mohammed Al-Qarni, former university professor and human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.

4. Professor Abdulrahman Abdullah Al-Shomairy, former professor of education and human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.

5. Dr. Abdulaziz Suliman Al-Khereiji, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.

6. Saifaldeen Faisal Al-Sherif, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.

7. Fahd Alskaree Al-Qurashi, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.

8. Abdulrahman Bin Sadiq, Human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.

9. Dr. Saud Mohammed Al-Hashemi, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.

10. Ali Khosifan Al-Qarni, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.

11. Mansour Salim Al-Otha, human-right activist, detained in December 12, 2007.