19 January، 2022 - A young man, Aqil Hassan Al-Faraj, faces the imminent danger of death, after the Court of Appeal approved the death sentence as a disciplinary punishment issued against him, and only the approval of the Supreme Court and the signature of the King before execution remained.
Al-Faraj, (November 16, 1991) was arrested on December 25, 2013, while passing through a checkpoint in the Al Nasera neighborhood in Al-Qatif, he was arrested due to a difference in the chassis number of the vehicle he was driving. He was not wanted by the security forces, and no arrest warrant was issued against him. He was interrogated for 3 hours, after which his father received a call to pick him up, but his detention was prolonged for interrogation about his relationship with wanted persons.
Aqil al-Faraj was arrested in the General Investigation Prison in Dammam, and held in solitary confinement, where he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment for two and a half months. He was beaten, electrocuted, cigarettes extinguished on his body, and he was placed in very cold rooms. The torture he was subjected to led to poor eyesight, permanent pain in the back and joints, as well as chronic psychological suffering.
After his arrest, Al-Faraj was unable to communicate with his family or the outside world, not even after a month and a half since his arrest. After two and a half months, he was released from solitary confinement and his family was able to visit him.
Almost five years after his arrest, Al-Faraj's trial began before the Specialized Criminal Court, where several charges were brought against him, like participation in the formation of a terrorist cell affiliated with a secret armed organization that aims at armed revolt against the ruler, destabilizing internal security, killing security men and inciting demonstrations; Trading in arms and ammunition; Promotion and use of narcotic drugs; Covering up arms and drug dealers and storing what would prejudice the public order by communicating with wanted persons.
Al-Faraj suffered from a nervous breakdown upon hearing the charges brought against him and the Public Prosecution’s request to kill him, because he had not committed any of them. Al-Faraj confirmed before the judge that he was forced to sign the confession under severe torture, but this was not investigated.
After holding three sessions, the Saudi government appointed a lawyer for him, who attended only two sessions, which prompted the family to appoint a new lawyer, but he was unable to access sufficient information and documents to defend him.
He submitted number of complaints to the official authorities, including the Royal Court, during which they confirmed that he had been tortured and that he had not committed the charges, accompanied by a travel record that confirmed his presence outside the country at the time of many of the charges brought against him. The family's complaints were not answered.
On June 1, 2021, the Court of Appeal ratified the Taazir death sentence* issued against him, which means that only the approval of the Supreme Court and the signature of the King before execution remained.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights confirms that the life of the young man, Aqil Al-Faraj, is in imminent danger, despite the violations involved in his trial. The organization points out that the case of the young man, Al-Faraj, is added to the previously documented cases, which confirm the complicity of the Saudi official agencies, from prison and the public prosecution to the judiciary and the royal court, in condoning violations and torture and covering them up, which are arbitrary rulings.
ESOHR stresses that the failure to accept the defendant's assertion that he was forced to sign confessions under torture, and the failure to deal with information that indicated that he was not present at the time of the charges, shows the leniency in the death sentences and the lack of seriousness of official promises with regard to reducing death sentences.
* In Islamic Law, tazir (ta'zeer or ta'zir, Arabic: تعزير) refers to punishment for offenses at the discretion of the judge or ruler of the state. (Wikipedia)
Source: esohr.org, Staff, January 19, 2022
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde