Sunday, October 18, 2015

What is considered a crime in the Saudi Kingdom of horrors

"Two Saudi activists have been sentenced to prison on charges related to their human rights work and calls for political reform, a Saudi human rights lawyer said Wednesday. One activist, Abdelrahman al-Hamid, was sentenced to nine years in jail, barred from traveling abroad after his release for nine years and fined $13,300. Mr. Hamid was a founding member of the Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights. He was accused of illegally establishing a human rights organization, questioning the credibility and independence of the judiciary, disobeying the king and interfering with the national Saudi Human Rights Commission. The second activist, Abdelaziz al-Sinedi, was sentenced to eight years in prison, barred from traveling for another eight years and fined. He was charged with inciting public opinion against the Saudi rulers, questioning the independence of the judiciary and describing Saudi Arabia as a police state. The lawyer, who spoke anonymously for fear of reprisal, said that both were sentenced Tuesday."