Cairo 17 April 2012
ANHRI repeats its call upon Saudi authorities to release opinion prisoner Mohamed El Bagadi who is poisoned in Al Ha’er prison since 21 March 2011 and recently was sentenced by 4 years imprisonment and a ban from travelling for 5 more years. El Bagadi went on hunger strike since 21 February to protest against the ill-treatment in prison.
SCC of the Ministry of Interior on 10 April, ruled an imprisonment for a period of 4 years and a travel ban for 5 years against the human rights activist “Mohammed bin Saleh Al Bagadi” (34 years), accused of several charges, including incitement against the regime, and supporting the uprising of Bahrain, and distribution of prohibited publications. Al Bagadi before, had joint a sit-in in front of the Interior Ministry demanding the release of detainees without trails in Saudi prisons as well as assistance to the families of these detainees, while Saudi authorities considered what he did a crime punishable by law so he was arrested from his home in the city of “Buraida” in Qassim on March 21, 2011, till the judgment was ruled against him.

It is worth noting that Al Bagadi who is one of the founders of Arabia political and civil rights organization (Hasm) – has started an indefinite hunger strike on 21 February protesting against the continued detention to date and ill-treatment in prison, and he refused to recognize the court considering his case for lacking a minimum of justice and impartiality expressed in not allowing him to bring legitimate agents for his defense. His strike was escalated on the seventh of April to a drinking strike too which made him repeatedly falls fainting threatened by death, while the Ministry of Interior denied the news and confirmed that he is in good health and eats regularly!

ANHRI said: “The case of Al Bagadi is the same of many detainees within the Kingdom, who have been suffering years of arbitrary detention without a fair trial, therefore the Saudi authorities should drop all charges against El Bagadi and release him immediately without conditions in order to preserve the life of a human rights activist, who faces death in Saudi prisons.”

“Saudi government should respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees every citizen the right to hold political opinion and to express it without fear of exposure to bodily harm or psychology by his government.” ANHRI added.

Related Information:
Saudi Arabia: ANHRI demanding the release of human rights Muhammad El Bagadi.