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))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Pedro Marques, Andrea Cozzolino, Marc Tarabella
on behalf of the S&D Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0392/2021

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B9‑0396/2021

European Parliament resolution on the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, notably the cases of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish and Abdullah al-Howaiti

(2021/2787(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-  regard to its previous resolutions on Saudi Arabia, in particular those of 25 October 2018 on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, of 14 February 2019 on women’s rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, of 7 October 2020 on the situation of Ethiopian migrants in detention centres in Saudi Arabia, of 9 February 2021 on the humanitarian and political situation in Yemen,

 

-  having regard to the statement made by HR/VP Josep Borrell on 10 December 2020 at the Foreign Affairs council stating that “human rights are in the DNA of the European Union”,

 

-  having regard to the Reporters Without Borders 2021 World Press Freedom Index ranking Saudi Arabia 170th of 180 countries,

 

-  having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),

 

-  having regard to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Saudi Arabia of November 2018,

 

-  having regard to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT),

 

-  having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 1966, 

 

-  having regard to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICESCR) of of 1966, 

 

-  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, 

 

-  having regard to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders,

 

-  having regard to the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime; 

 

-  having regard to the UN Human Rights Council’s rebuke of Saudi Arabia’s membership bid in October 2020 after serving two consecutive terms,

 

-  having regard to the report released in June 2019 of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, stating that Saudi Arabia is responsible for the “premedited execution” of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,

 

-  having regard to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor analysing the killing of human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia presented during the UN Human Rights Council 46th session in March 2021,

 

-  having regard to the Report of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessing the Saudi government’s role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi released in February 2021,

 

-  having regard to the statement issued by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet following the COVID-19 outbreak calling all countries to release “every person detained without sufficient legal basis, including political prisoners, and those detained for critical, dissenting views”,

 

-  having regard to the fact that Loujain Al Hathloul was awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Award 2020 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,

 

1. Whereas on 15 June 2021, Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish was executed for offences that rights groups say he may have committed as a minor, despite the kingdom’s recent announcement that it had abolished the death penalty for minors; whereas he was subjected to a prolonged pre-trial detention, torture, and a grossly unfair trial; whereas al-Darwish’s charges do not specify the exact date his alleged crimes took place, resulting in a probability that he was a minor at the time of the alleged crimes and therefore should be revised under new national laws concerning the use of the death penatly against those under 18;

 

2. Whereas in April 2020, Huwaitat tribesman Abdul-Rahim al-Howeiti was killed by the Saudi authorities after protesting the government’s eviction order due to construction for the NEOM project; whereas the authorities rounded up and arrested at least eight other members of the tribe who opposed the eviction;

 

3. Whereas there are currently at least 40 detainees in Saudi Arabia who remain at risk of execution; whereas this number includes several for alleged crimes committed as minors, and peaceful critics such as Islamic scholars Salman al-Odah and Hassan al-Maliki, for whom  the public prosecutor continues to demand the death sentence;

 

4. Whereas Saudi Arabia has for many years been among the countries carrying out the highest numbers of executions in the world; whereas since the accession of King Salman in January 2015 there have been more than 800 executions, a large number of these for non-violent drug offences while others were for offences described by the authorities as terrorism-related but which consisted of peaceful actions; 

 

5. Whereas 2021 has seen a total of 32 executions carried out so far, more than the number for the whole of 2020, showing that the reduction last year has not been sustained;

 

6. Whereas, Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission announced on April 2020 that a new royal decree was about to end the death penalty for minors, portraying this as a major step towards criminal justice reform; whereas the decree contains various loopholes leaving several ways in which minors can still be executed, excluding death sentences passed as hudud (fixed punishments) or qisas (retribution) and cases brought under the Counter-Terrorism Law;

 

7. Whereas despite the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission regarding the moratorium on death penalties for drug-related offences in January 2021, no change in the law has yet been published and the death penalty remains at the discretion of judges and the authorities;

 

8. Whereas Abdurahman Al Sadhan has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and a 20-year travel ban for activities related to tweets criticising the government; whereas his trial severely violated international fair trial guarantees; whereas Al Sadhan was held incommunicado at a secret location for nearly two years from his arrest; whereas during his detention Al Sadhan has been subjected to torture and sexual harassment, including electrical shocks, beatings, flogging, suspension in stress-positions, solitary confinement, and verbal abuse; 

 

9. Whereas in February 2021 the SCC sentenced six activists to lengthy prisons terms on charges relating to their peaceful civil activities; Israa al-Ghomgham to eight years, her husband Mousa al-Hashim to 17 years, Ahmed al-Matrood to 15 years, Khaled al-Ghanim to 13 years, Ali al-Ouwaisher to 10 years, and Mujtaba al-Muzain to eight years;

 

10. Whereas Mohammed Al Otaibi, founder of the Union for Human Rights, had his prison sentence increased from 14 to 17 years for his peaceful human rights activism in March 2021; whereas he was extradited from Qatar, to which he had fled, back to Saudi Arabia, despite Norway already having granted him political asylum; whereas charges include “forming an unlicensed organisation”, a clear attack on the work of the organisation he founded which most notably called for the abolition of the death penalty and strengthening women’s role in society; whereas international observers were not allowed to attend his trial; 

 

11. Whereas human rights activist Khaled Al-Omair was sentenced in April 2021 to 7 years imprisonment and banned from travelling for 7 years, on charges of his peaceful human rights activities; whereas he was initially arrested in June 2018 after filing a complaint with the Royal Court against an officer who tortured him during a previous eight-year prison term; whereas charges include launching a hashtag on Twitter titled “the people want a new constitution”; whereas he was unable to contact his family for a period of six months; whereas his allegations of torture were not investigated;

 

12. Whereas numerous women arrested during the 2018 wave of women’s rights defenders crackdown were sentenced to long prison terms solely based on their human rights activism and were only released after almost three years of detention during which they were subjected to cruel and degrading treatment including beatings, sexual assault, and prolonged solitary confinement and are still facing heavy restrictions today, including probation, social media and travel bans; whereas these include Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah; whereas all targeted women human rights defenders are subjected to travel bans;

 

13. Whereas other women’s rights defenders were temporarily released but continue to be subjected to trial and harsh restrictions including work bans; whereas these women include Aziza Al Youssef and Nouf Abdelaziz; 

 

14. Whereas Loujain al-Hathloul was released in February 2021, after spending more than 1,000 days in prison but still faces three years of probation and a five-year travel ban;

 

15. Whereas the 2015 Law on Associations and Foundations made it more difficult for civil society organisations to operate as the state is able to monitor their activities and identify who is engaging in human rights work; whereas the state does not allow civil society organisations to operate without a licence, which it never grants if they are independent and critically engage in human rights and women’s rights; whereas the state may deny registration to civil society organizations if they “violate Islamic Sharia”, “act contrary to public morals” and “breach national unity”; whereas the state does not permit the establishment of human rights organisations; 

 

16. Whereas the 2017 Law on Combating Crimes of Terrorism and its Financing defines terrorism in vague terms and does not require the use of violence in order for an act to be categorised as a terrorist act; whereas “disturbing public order”, “undermining public security” and “destablising the state or endangering its national unity” fall under terrorist acts; whereas the Counter-Terrorism Law punishes anyone who “directly or indirectly” describes the King or Crown Prince as “in any way harming religion or justice” with 5 to 10 years in prison;

 

17. Whereas the 2007 Anti-Cybercrime Law utilises vague provisions which are frequently used to charge and try individuals for expressing their opinions in online publications or on social media; whereas Article 6 of the Anti-Cybercrime Law criminalises “the production, preparation, transmission and privacy via an information network” with up to 5 years in prison and fines of up to three million Saudi riyals (660,000€);

 

18. Whereas judicial proceedings in Saudi Arabia are marred by numerous violations of international fair trial guarantees, including the denial of access to lawyers and court documents, undue delays, and the use of secret trials; whereas Saudi Arabia fails to have an independent judiciary which is an indispensable requirement to guarantee the rule of law;

 

19. Whereas in clear breach of customary international law, the Saudi authorities commonly place arrested individuals in incommunicado detention whereby they are denied contact with the outside world; whereas the majority of people who are taken into custody undergo periods of incommunicado detention ranging from several days to years; whereas article 119 of the Law of Criminal Procedures provides that “the investigator shall be entitled to stop the accused from communicating with any other accused or detainee, and to stop any visit to such accused for a period not exceeding sixty days whenever it is deemed necessary, without prejudice to the right of the accused to communicate with his representative or attorney” and articles 19 and 20 of the Counter-Terrorism Law grant the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) the power to extend the period of custody- including incommunicado detention- indefinitely;

 

20. Whereas the use of torture and degrading treatment in prisons is a widespread practice in Saudi Arabia and is used both during interrogation to extract confessions and as a form of punishment during detention; whereas investigations are rarely conducted into allegations of torture;

 

1. Strongly condemns the recent executions of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish and the killing of Abdul-Rahim al-Howeiti, as well as the fact that there are currently at least 40 detainees in Saudi Arabia at risk of execution, including several for alleged crimes committed as minors, and peaceful critics of the government;

 

2. Calls on the Saudi authorities to immediately 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;

 

3. Calls on the Saudi authorities to review the cases of all prisoners currently under a death sentence with the aim of commuting their sentences or offering a new and fair trial without resort to death penalty;

 

4. Calls on the Saudi authorities to follow through with their commitment to a moratorium on the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences as a step towards a moratorium on the use of the death penalty altogether and ultimately its abolition;

 

5. Strongly condemns pattern of harsh prison sentences handed to human rights defenders, peaceful critics , and activists and reiterates its solidarity with the important work of human rights defenders and the need to protect freedom of speech and expression; 

 

6. Demands the immediate and unconditional release of all human rights defenders, women’s rights defenders, peaceful critics, and activists including Abdurahman Al Sadhan, Mohammed Al Otaibi, Khaled Al-Omair, Mohammed al-Rabiah, Israa al-Ghomgham, Mousa al-Hashim, Ahmed al-Matrood, Khaled al-Ghanim, Ali al-Ouwaisher, Mujtaba al-Muzain;

 

7. Calls for the full freedom of human rights defenders temporarily released but still facing restrictions such as Loujain al-Hathloul, including by removing travel bans on them and their family, removing work bans, curtailing online surveillance, restoring their full-rights as citizens; 

 

8. Urges the Saudi government to abide by its commitments to the Convention Against Torture (CAT), which it has ratified, especially in respect to Article 11 concerning the treatmeant of detained persons with a view to preventing any cases of torture; insists that the Saudi government repeal the reservations made to the CAT and recognise the jurisdiction of the Committee to fully investigate allegations of torture; strongly encourages the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture; demands that Saudi authorities put an end to the practice of torture and ill-treatment, including prolonged periods of incommunicado detention and solitary confinement;

 

9. Demands an end to the culture of impunity including by ensuring proper prosecution of perpetrators of torture; insists that this responsibility be undertaken by an independent third entity;  

 

10. Stresses that the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful association and assembly are protected under international human rights law; calls on the Saudi authorities to allow independent press and media and ensure freedom of expression online and offline, as well as freedom of association and peaceful assembly for all inhabitants of Saudi Arabia; urges the Saudi authorities to remove the restrictions placed on human rights defenders, which prohibit them from speaking out on social media and to the international media; 

 

11. Expresses concern over the practice of secret hearings; insists that diplomatic missions, including observers from the EU Delegation to Saudi Arabia or the EU institutions, and international NGOs be allowed to attend hearings to ensure proper and fair trial procedures are being followed; 

 

12. Insists that independent media, human rights experts, and legislators be allowed to visit the country and detention facilities;

 

13. Further asks to extend a standing invitation to UN Special Procedures mandate holders to fulfill their duties and undertake fact-finding missions;

 

14. Is gravely concerned by the vague definition of terrorism provided by the country’s Counter-Terrorism Law; condemns the use of the SCC, a court designed to deal with terrorism matters, as a tool to punish human rights defenders; calls for the abolition of the Court altogether and for the Saudi government to refrain from subjecting peaceful dissidents to reprisals under the pretext of counterterrorism; 

 

15. Urges the Saudi government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

 

16. Asks the Saudi government to revise the 2015 Law on Associations and Foundations so that it may be in line with international standards regarding the freedom of association; 

 

17. Raises concerns over the pattern of incommunicado detention as it constitutes a serious violation of due process; notes that it places individuals outside the protection of the law and facilitates the practice of torture and ill-treatment, while prolonged incommunicado detention can constitute a form of torture in itself; 

 

18. Reiterates the importance of tools such as the EU-Saudi Human Rights Dialogues to propel further discussion and urges its enaction without delay; urges the European External Action Service and all EU Delegations attending to engage with civil society prior to the Dialogue to ensure up-to-date information and knowledge of specific cases to be raised; encourages the use of benchmarks to mark the progress of the discussions; 

 

19. Encourages the Council and the Commission to engage in further actions to ensure adequate protection of Saudi human rights defenders; calls on the Council to consider the imposition of the EU-wide targeted sanctions against the Saudi officials and individuals guilty of perpetrating human rights violations through the newly implemented EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime;

 

20. Reiterates its call for an end to exports to Saudi Arabia of surveillance technology and other equipment that can facilitate internal repression;

 

21. Calls on members states as well as the HR/VP and the European External Action Service to raise human rights concerns during all formal and informal meetings with their Saudi counterparts; 

 

22. Calls on the European Union to support any UN Human Rights Council action to hold the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia responsible for human rights abuses; calls for the European Union to propose the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Saudi Arabia at the UN Human Rights Council;

 

23. Reminds the European diplomatic services in Riyadh and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia to systematically use the mechanisms envisaged in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, including public statements, diplomatic démarches, monitoring of trials and prison visits;

 

24. Regrets that several Saudi human rights defenders including Samar Badawi have been and continue to be punished for communicating with European diplomatic services and engaging with UN bodies on account of “liaising with foreign entities hostile to the Saudi government”; 

 

25. Urges Saudi Arabia to publicly guarantee the safety of all detained activists, allowing them access to lawyers and family members, provide evidence of their wellbeing; reiterates the need to release those jailed solely for peacefully advocating reform;

 

26. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European External Action Service, the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Commission on the Status of Women, the UN Human Rights Council, H.M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and 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.