UIA Petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD)

In July 2015, the UIA co-signed and submitted a petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) requesting it to consider Waleed Abu Al-Khair’s case.

Waleed Abu Al-Khair, a Saudi human rights defender and the head of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, is a currently serving a 15-year sentence at the Al-Ha’ir Rehabilitation Centre in Riyadh. He was found guilty of several charges, including “seeking to remove legitimate authorities”; “harming public order in the State and its officials”; and “publicly slandering the judiciary, distorting the kingdom’s reputation, making international organisations hostile to the kingdom”.

Mr. Abu Al-Khair has represented several victims whose human rights have been violated. Among them are:

- Samar Badawi, imprisoned in 2010 under the charge of “disobedience under the Saudi Arabia male guardianship system”. She later became Mr. Abu Al-Khair’s wife and one of the best known women's rights activist in Saudi Arabia. In 2012, she won the International Women of Courage Award, which is presented annually by the U.S. State Department.

- Abd al-Rahman al-Shumairi, one of the so-called Jeddah reformers, a group of around a dozen men known for their public stances demanding human rights and political reform in Saudi Arabia. The authorities arrested them in February 2007, allegedly for collecting funds for terrorism.

- Raif Badawi, the very well-known Saudi blogger who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of 1 million Saudi Riyal for several charges, including insulting Islamic religious figures by creating and managing an online forum.