Subject: Further Action Needed on Urgent Action UA #323/04 Saudi Arabia -
13 Nigerian nationals tortured, possibly facing execution
URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
----------------------------------
Note: Please write on behalf of these people even though you
may not have received the original UA when issued on
November 26, 2004. Thanks!
21 June 2005
Further Information on UA 323/04 (26 November 2004)
Fear of death sentence/ unfair trial
and new concern: Flogging
SAUDI ARABIA
Nigerian nationals, aged 20-30:
Abbas Majood Akanni (m)
Murtala Amao Oladele (m)
Abbas Azeez Oladuni (m)
Nurudeen Owoalade (m)
Nurudeen Sani (m)
Mohammed Abdulahi Yussuf (m)
Wahid Elebyte (m)
Ahmed Abbas Alabi (m)
Suliamon Olyfemi (m)
Mafiu Obadina (m)
Samiu Hamud Zuberu (m)
Kasim Afolabi Afolabi (m)
Abdullamim Shobayo (m)
Suliamon Olyfemi is believed to have been sentenced to
death. At a sentencing hearing on 16 May the other men
named above, who had been tried with him, say they were
told that he was to suffer the death penalty. It is usual in
Saudi Arabia for condemned prisoners not to be told of their
sentence until they are taken from their cells to be executed.
The other twelve men were sentenced on 16 May to five
years' imprisonment and 500 lashes. For reasons unclear,
Abbas Majood Akanni was not taken to court to hear his
sentence.
The thirteen had received an unfair trial, without any legal
representation, conducted entirely in Arabic, which they do
not speak. No interpretation or translation of the proceedings
was provided. During interrogation they had been told to put
their fingerprints, which can act as a signature, on statements
written in Arabic, which they could not read. It is possible
that these statements were used as evidence against them
during the trial proceedings.
Staff from the Nigerian consulate in Jeddah attempted to visit
the men in prison on 19 May, but were not allowed to see
them.
In early April 2005, six Somali nationals were executed
without being told that they had been sentenced to death.
They had been sentenced to five years' imprisonment, but
actually spent six years in prison before they were taken out
and beheaded. They spoke to their families by telephone two
hours before their execution, at which point they did not
know what was about to be done to them. Amnesty
International is therefore concerned that all 13 of these men
may be facing the death penalty.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of
offences, including murder. Court proceedings fall far short
of international standards for fair trial, and take place behind
closed doors.
Defendants do not have the right to formal representation by
a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress
of legal proceedings against them. Defendants may also be
convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under
duress, torture or deception.
At least 19 people are known to have been executed in Saudi
Arabia so far this year. The true figure may be much higher.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to
arrive as quickly as possible:
- recognizing the right and responsibility of the government
of Saudi Arabia to bring to justice those guilty of recognizably
criminal offences, but urging them to ensure that Suliamon
Olyfemi is not sentenced to death,
- expressing concern that his 12 co-defendants have been
sentenced to flogging, and calling for the sentences to be
commuted regardless of the offence for which they have been
handed down;
- stating that you consider the use of flogging as punishment
to be cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment amounting to
torture, contrary to Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, which states: "No one shall be subjected to
torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment."
- asking what charges the 13 faced, and asking for details of
the trial proceedings.
APPEALS TO:
Minister of the Interior:
His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin 'Abdul 'Aziz
Minister of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior
P.O. Box 2933, Airport Road
Riyadh 11134, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 1185 (it may be difficult to get
through, please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
Minister of Foreign Affairs:
His Royal Highness Prince Saud al-Faisal bin 'Abdul 'Aziz Al-
Saud
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nasseriya Street
Riyadh 11124, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 0159 (it may be difficult to get
through, please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
Minister of Justice:
His Excellency Dr. 'Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim
Al-Sheikh
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice
University Street
Riyadh 11137, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 401 1741
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Prince Bandar Bin Sultan
Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 944 3113
Email: [email protected]
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the
Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain
Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after 2 August 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
----------------------------------
