By: Chris Michael, Posted: Nov 20 08

Saudi Arabia

Arbitrary arrest, Detention, Freedom of opinion & expression

bloggers, Detention, facebook, free expresion, hunger strike, Saudi Arabia, udhr

We just received an email update from Saudi activists that Saudi authorities have "intensified campaigns aimed at suppressing freedom of expressions, blocking media outlets, and stymieing civil movements" since the November 6-7 hunger strike. The response from the Saudi activists?  "We're not done yet."

I wrote earlier about this historic hunger strike, which was particularly of note because it was organized and conducted online due to the oppressive restraints of freedom of expression and assembly in Saudi Arabia. Organizers used online tools to amplify their call for the trial or immediate release of 11 human rights activists that remain in detention well beyond what the law provided - 10 of them for nearly two years.

In days, hundreds of supporters joined their Arabic and English Facebook pages, which were primary points for public organizing and updating on the strike. They also had a smart outreach plan that yielded a spark in media coverage - particularly online. However, days after the strike, one organizer's blog was shutdown by authorities and today organizers' wrote:

...the latest witch hunts against human right activists is the cancellation of Dr.Mohammad Fahad Al-Qahtani's TV talk show (Economic Issues) in Al-Eqtisadiah Business Channel (a Pan-Arab satellite channel) in response to the interviews he had with the international media outlets during the hunger strike. The episodes of blocking blogs that belong to human right activists continue, the authority's latest casualty is Mr. Esam Mudeer's Blog which has been blocked because of his involvements in publicizing, publishing, following and participating in the hunger strike. Unfortunately, these suppressive steps become the inevitable fates for those Saudi activists who intend to uplift and call for human rights.

Call for Action: December 10 - International Human Rights Day
The group is highlighting the importance of December 10th, which is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the date when Saudi Arabia signed and ratified international human rights conventions and also marks the arrest and detention of Saudi blogger Fouad Al-Farhan.

Organizers are asking "all activists, writers, and bloggers in Saudi Arabia to dedicate the 10th of December in each year to be the day for human rights which must be celebrated by preserving freedom of expressions and by absolutely rejecting totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and transgressions."

We will continue to follow their struggle and keep you updated via the Hub blog.

For now, if you have read this far, you should definitely watch these videos:

1) An interview with hunger strike organizer Dr.Mohammad Fahad Al-Qahtani during the strike - his TV show was canceled, as noted above.

2) An interview about the root causes of the strike with prominent Saudi journalist Ebtihal Mubarak.