MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, notably the cases of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish and Abdullah al-Howaiti
6.7.2021 - (2021/2787(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure
Hannah Neumann, Bronis Ropė, Ernest Urtasun, Sven Giegold, Ignazio Corrao, Saskia Bricmont
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0392/2021
B9‑0393/2021
European Parliament resolution on on the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, notably the cases of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish and Abdullah al-Howaiti
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Saudi Arabia, notably the one on Saudi Arabia, its relations with the EU and its role in the Middle East and North Africa of March 2014, the one on the case of Raif Badawi of February 2015; the one on the case of Ali Mohmmed al-Nimr of October 2015; the one on the situation of women’s rights defenders in Saudi Arabia of 31 May 2018, the one on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul of 24 October 2018, the one on the situation on women’s rights defenders in Saudi Arabia of 12 February 2019 and the one the situation of Ethiopian migrants in detention centres in Saudi Arabia of 8 October 2020;
– having regard to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism of June 2018, after her visit to Saudi Arabia;
– having regard to the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights;
– having regard to the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, on the Death Penalty, on Torture and on Freedom of Expression;
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
– having regard to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT),
– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),
– having regard to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (“Mandela Rules”),
– having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. Whereas on 28 March 2018, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced Mustafa al-Darwish to death over charges relating to his participation in protests, including “participation in armed rebellion against the rulers, blocking roads and sowing discord” and “seeking to disrupt national cohesion through his participation in more than 10 riots”; whereas the court document doesn’t specify the exact dates of the alleged crimes, which means that Mustafa al-Darwish could have been 17 or 18 at the time of his alleged participation in riots –making it unclear as to whether Mustafa al-Darwish’s case should have been revised under the new juvenile law; whereas, the “evidence” on which the death sentence is based resulted from a seriously flawed process during which Mustafa al-Darwish was subjected to prolonged pre-trial detention for over two years; whereas according to his testimony to the judge, his confessions were obtained under torture; whereas on 15 June 2021, Mustafa al-Darwish, was executed following an unfair trial resulting in a conviction for alleged crimes, he possibly committed as a minor;
B. Whereas Abdullah al-Howaiti was tried in a mass trial of 6 individuals in a case of “armed robbery”; whereas the Criminal Court in Tabuk (Northern Saudi Arabia) sentenced Abdullah al-Howaiti to death on 27 October 2019 despite his alibi for the time of the alleged crime; whereas Al-Howaiti was arrested in May 2017, when he was 14 years old; whereas according to court documents, he was detained in solitary confinement for four months throughout his interrogation without the presence of his parents or lawyer; whereas he was detained in the Criminal Investigations Unit of Tabuk during this time, instead of a juvenile detention centre; whereas Abdullah al-Howaiti, who was 14 at the age of the allegedly committed crimes, still remains in detention and on death row;
C. Whereas Saudi Arabia has announced rolling out of ambitious human rights related reforms under the Vision 2030, including modifications of the penal system marked for example by announcing the abolition of death penalty for juveniles; whereas the Kingdom’s claims to have abolished the death penalty for crimes committed by minors are under question with the recent execution of Mustafa al-Darwish and the continued death row for Abdullah al-Howaiti;
D. Whereas the execution of Mustafa al-Darwish greatly undermines Saudi Arabia’s recent progress on use of the death penalty which saw an 85% drop in executions in the Kingdom in 2020; whereas according to UN experts Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty continues to violate international law, referring to allegations of torture and ill-treatment to extract confessions, and in relation to the imposition of the death penalty for crimes which do not meet the threshold of ‘most serious crimes’; whereas Saudi Arabia remains one of the five top executing countries in the world;
E. Whereas Saudi Arabia has commuted the death sentences imposed on Mr. Ali al-Nimr, Mr. Dawood al-Marhoon and Mr. Abdullah al-Zaher for crimes experts previously considered to represent criminalization of the exercise of fundamental rights, including freedom of assembly and expression and which they allegedly committed as minors; whereas they have been re-sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, inclusive of time served; whereas UN experts call for their release;
F. Whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia holds one of the lowest levels of ratification of core international human rights treaties and has not acceded central human rights treaties at the normative core of the right to life, like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
G. Whereas despite some releases, the continuing sentencing to lengthy prison terms on charges related to peaceful dissent and expression underscores the Saudi authorities’ continued campaign of repression;
1. Condemns in the strongest terms the execution of Mustafa al-Darwish, a young Saudi from the Shi’a minority, charged with crimes that may have occurred whilst he was a minor and following his conviction in an unfair trial involving his confession coerced under torture;
2. Calls on Saudi authorities to offer a new and fair trial without resort to the death penalty to Abdullah al-Howaiti who was sentenced in an unfair trial for a crime that occurred whilst he was 14 years old; calls to investigate his allegations having been subjected to torture and bring any perpetrators to justice; and to consider releasing him on bail given that he has already been imprisoned for four years following an unfair trial;
3. Reiterates the EU's strong and firm opposition to the use of death penalty in any cases and under any circumstances; supports all efforts in retentionist countries to reduce the number of crimes punishable by the death penalty and to put in place due process and legal guarantees to avoid any irreversible miscarriages of justice, while pursuing the ultimate goal of abolishing the capital punishment;
4. Calls on the Saudi authorities to stop imposing the death penalty on anyone under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged offence, in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to bring its Juvenile Law in line with international standards;
5. Commends in this context the Saudi Human Rights Commission’s announcement to commute the death sentences of Mr. Ali al-Nimr, Mr. Dawood al-Marhoon and Mr. Abdullah al-Zaher, which was given to them for crimes experts previously considered to represent criminalization of the exercise of fundamental rights, including freedom of assembly and expression and which they allegedly committed when they were less than 18 years old, while calling for their release;
6. Calls on the Saudi authorities for a comprehensive review of all death sentences to ensure that these trials adhered to international standards and with the aim of commuting those sentences or offering a new and fair trial without resort to the death penalty;
7. Urges the Government of Saudi Arabia to halt all pending executions in the country, to promptly establish a moratorium on the death penalty and to consider its complete abolition;
8. Calls on the EEAS to initiate a new movement amongst GCC countries for a moratorium on death penalties;
9. Is highly alerted by reports about the continuing use of torture and other cruel, degrading treatment or punishment against detainees, including peaceful activists to extract confessions and calls for thorough and credible investigations into all torture allegations, with a view of holding those responsible to account;
10. Reminds the Saudi authorities that Article 15 of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) prohibits the use of any statement made as a result of torture as evidence in any proceedings; calls for the immediate ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR aiming at the abolition of the death penalty;
11. Calls upon Saudi Arabia urgently to review the definition of terrorism in the 2014 Law and bring it into line with international human rights norms, and to refrain from using anti-terrorism and other forms of national security legislation to stifle peaceful political dissidence, criticism or non-violent protest;
12. Calls on the government of Saudi Arabia to fully cooperate with the UN bodies and to extend a standing invitation to the visit of all Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and to cooperate in a proactive manner; urges the authorities of Saudi Arabia to ensure particularly that the UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, on Human Rights Defenders, on Freedom of Expression and on Freedom of Assembly are allowed to enter the country; calls on the Saudi government to allow EU officials to monitor trials again and ensure the possibility of EU officials, independent monitors and human rights groups ; to visit Saudi;
13. Denounces that the Saudi political system remains profoundly undemocratic and continues severely repressing all voices of dissent despite announcement on ambitious human rights related reforms; highlights that the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the premises of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 remains a chilling message for all critical voices in Saudi Arabia, including many held in detention for their peaceful activism; calls in the case of the murder of Kashoggi for the use of the EU Human Rights Sanction Mechanism and calls on the EU und the international community to thoroughly follow up on the respective report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (“Callamard-Report”);
14. Calls on the Government of Saudi Arabia to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience and all human rights defenders, among them Sakharov laureate Raif Badawi, Waleed Abu Al-Khair, Mohammed Al-Otaibi, Abdulaziz Al-Shubaili, Issa Al-Nukhaifi and Natheer Al-Majed; welcomes the release from prison of women’s rights defenders, including Loujain al-Hathloul’s, Nouf Abdulaziz, Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sada, while regretting that sentences were only suspended and calls on Saudi authorities to stop harassing human rights defender with travel bans;
15. Recalls that Sakharov laureate Raif Badawi has been in prison for 9 years now; calls on the EU, Member States and the international community to increase pressure on the Saudi government and work towards his immediate release;
16. Denounces the continued, systemic discrimination against women and girls in Saudi Arabia and deplores the glaring disconnect between the encouraging announcements of reform by the Saudi leadership and the reality on the ground; calls on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to refrain from any systemic discrimination against women and minorities, including religious minorities; deplores that, despite welcome reforms for women since 2019, discriminatory laws against women remain, including regarding their personal status, and the male guardianship system has yet to be fully abolished;
17. Reiterates the need to ensure a more comprehensive approach to the extremely worrying record of human rights violations, including against women and girls, human rights defenders and minorities in Saudi Arabia and calls on the EU to take an initiative at the next UN Human Rights Council which would raise the issue of membership by States with deeply questionable human rights records;
18. Urges the HR/VP, the EEAS and EU member states to ensure that the establishment of a human rights dialogue contributes to concrete human rights by defining clear objectives, specific benchmarks and human rights indicators to measure progress, while being guided by priorities identified through regular consultation with Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and to be regularly reviewed in consultation with HRDs and genuine civil society;
19. Recalls in this context that a Human Rights dialogue with Saudi Arabia was due to take place at the end of 2020 and calls on the HR/VP to keep the Parliament informed about developments in this respect; calls on the European Council President Charles Michel to inform the Parliament about the outcomes of his recent visit to Saudi Arabia; expects that the dire human rights situation in the country has been crucial element of his discussions; regrets the very timid approach to public diplomacy by the EU vis a vis Saudi Arabia;
20. Calls on the HR/VP, the EEAS and EU member states to mainstream human rights and civil society involvement across all areas of cooperation with the Saudi authorities, including in the fields of energy, economic, security and socio-cultural cooperation; highlights the importance of involving human rights defenders (HRDs) and genuine civil society as legitimate partners in all environmental, educational and cultural cooperation programmes;
21. Reiterates its urgent call on all EU Member States to refrain from selling arms and any military equipment to Saudi Arabia; reiterates its recent call for an end to exports of surveillance technology and other equipment that can facilitate internal repression, to several countries including Saudi Arabia;
22. Calls on the EU delegation and Member States’ representations in the country to strengthen their support for civil society in their engagement with the Saudi authorities, and to use all available instruments to increase their support for human rights defenders’ work, and, where appropriate, to facilitate the issuing of emergency visas, and provide temporary shelter in the EU Member States;
23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the UN Secretary General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, H.M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Secretary-General of the Centre for National Dialogue of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.