Saudi Arabia seeks 'unprecedented' beheading for woman activist

The accusations against a group Israa al-Ghomgham is part of include chanting slogans hostile to the regime and attempting to inflame public opinion.</s>Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor has sought the death penalty against five human rights activists, including a prominent female rights defender, campaigners said on Wednesday.

Among those accused of inciting protests by the Shia Muslim minority in the oil-rich Eastern Province is Israa al-Ghomgham, the first female activist to possibly face the death penalty for her rights-related work.

“Israa al-Ghomgham and four other individuals are now facing the most appalling possible punishment simply for their involvement in anti-government protests,” said Samah Hadid, Amnesty International's Middle East director of campaigns.

“We are urging the Saudi Arabian authorities to drop these plans immediately.”

Saudi government officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ghomgham, a prominent Shia activist who documented mass demonstrations in the Eastern Province starting in 2011, was arrested at her home along with her husband in December 2015, according to Human Rights Watch.

“Sentencing Israa al-Ghomgham to death would send a horrifying message that other activists could be targeted in the same way for their peaceful protest and human rights activism,” Hadid said.

“The charges against Ghomgham... are absurd and clearly politically motivated to silence dissent.”

Amnesty says at least 12 other leading human rights activists, including eight women, have been arrested in the kingdom since May — just before the kingdom ended its ban on women drivers.

Many of them long opposed the decades-long ban and resisted the system of male “guardians” — fathers, husbands or other relatives, whose permission is required to travel or get married.

The ultra-conservative kingdom has one of the world's highest rates of execution, with suspects convicted of terrorism, homicide, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking facing the death penalty.

Rights experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom, an absolute monarchy governed under a strict form of Islamic law. The government says the death penalty is a deterrent for further crime.</s>RIYADH: : Saudi Arabia´s public prosecutor has sought the death penalty against five human rights activists, who are currently being tried by the country's terrorism tribunal, rights groups said on Wednesday.

Among those accused of inciting protests in the oil-rich Eastern Province is Israa al-Ghomgham, the first female activist to possibly face the death penalty.

"Israa al-Ghomgham and four other individuals are now facing the most appalling possible punishment simply for their involvement in anti-government protests," said Samah Hadid, Amnesty International´s Middle East director of campaigns.

"We are urging the Saudi Arabian authorities to drop these plans immediately," Hadid added.



Ghomgham was arrested at her home along with her husband in December 2015, according to Human Rights Watch.

"Sentencing Israa al-Ghomgham to death would send a horrifying message that other activists could be targeted in the same way for their peaceful protest and human rights activism," Hadid said.

"The charges against Ghomgham... are absurd and clearly politically motivated to silence dissent."</s>Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five human rights activists, including, for the first time a woman, campaigners say.

The five stand accused of inciting mass protests in mainly Shiite areas of the Sunni-ruled kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province and human rights groups charged that the execution threat was a calculated bid to stifle dissent.

It comes as Saudi Arabia takes an increasingly combative approach to international criticism of its human rights record, imposing a raft of sanctions against Canada after it spoke out earlier this month.

Female activist, Israa al-Ghomgham, who has documented the protests in Eastern Province since they began in 2011, would be the first woman activist to face the death sentence for rights-related work.

She was arrested at her home along with her husband in December 2015, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in separate statements this week.

"Israa al-Ghomgham and four other individuals are now facing the most appalling possible punishment simply for their involvement in anti-government protests," said Samah Hadid, Amnesty International's Middle East director of campaigns.

"We are urging the Saudi Arabian authorities to drop these plans immediately."

Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

HRW said Ghomgham, her husband and the three other defendants face charges that "do not resemble recognisable crimes".

"Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behaviour, is monstrous," its Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said.

Amnesty said the unprecedented call for a death sentence against Ghomgham was a clear attempt to scare other dissidents into silence.

"Sentencing Israa al-Ghomgham to death would send a horrifying message that other activists could be targeted in the same way for their peaceful protest and human rights activism," Hadid said.

Amnesty says at least 12 other leading activists, including eight women, have been arrested in the kingdom since May -- just before the authorities ended their decades-long ban on women driving.

Many of them had opposed both the driving ban and the wider system of statutory male "guardians" for women -- fathers, husbands or other relatives, whose permission is required to travel or get married.

Earlier this month, Canada sparked fury in Riyadh by calling for the "immediate release" of the detained activists, including award-winning women's rights campaigner Samar Badawi.

Saudi Arabia froze all new trade and investments, moved to pull out thousands of Saudi students from Canadian universities and pledged to stop all medical treatment programmes in Canada. State airline Saudia also suspended flights to Toronto.

The ultra-conservative kingdom has one of the world's highest rates of execution, with suspects convicted of terrorism, homicide, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking facing the death penalty.

Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom, an absolute monarchy governed under a strict form of Islamic law. The government says the death penalty is an effective deterrent against serious crime.</s>Prosecutors in Saudi Arabia are seeking the death penalty for five activists in the country’s Eastern Province, according to Saudi activists and Human Rights Watch. Among those being targeted is Israa al-Ghomgham, who Saudi groups say would be the first female human rights activist to be put to death in the Saudi kingdom if the execution proceeds.

“Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behavior, is monstrous,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “Every day, the Saudi monarchy’s unrestrained despotism makes it harder for its public relations teams to spin the fairy tale of ‘reform’ to allies and international business.”

Human Rights Watch says that Ghomgham is among five activists for whom Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecution office is seeking the death penalty. They are being tried in the country’s terrorism tribunal for what their supporters say was peaceful activism.

The Berlin-based European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (EOSHR) highlighted Ghomgham’s case in a series of emails earlier this week, calling it a “precedent” and saying that the Saudi prosecution was seeking the activist’s beheading. Last week, the organization released a statement that suggested 51 people were awaiting execution in the country.

Ghomgham and five other activists are facing trial in connection with demonstrations in the Shiite-populated parts of Eastern Province that began in 2011. The demonstrations were held to protest the discrimination that Shiite Muslim citizens face in the predominantly Sunni Muslim kingdom. According to Human Rights Watch, Ghomgham and her husband were arrested on Dec. 6, 2015, and have been held in prison ever since.

Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against five of the six suspects, according to an indictment obtained by the Post. The allegations against Ghomgam included participating in protests and “provoking” young people to do the same; inciting what the authorities called a “soft revolution;” and traveling to Iran, where prosecutors said she received “theoretical lessons on how to create chaos.” The Saudi government did not immediately respond to questions about her case.

Apart from the cases related to protests in the Shiite-majority areas of Eastern Province, the Saudi government faces growing condemnation for a crackdown on dissidents, including women’s rights advocates. Among the women recently arrested was Nassima al-Sadah, a Shiite Muslim from the eastern city of Qatif, who had tried unsuccessfully to run for local elections there and had sued to lift the kingdom’s long-standing ban on female drivers.

According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia uses the death penalty more than almost any other country in the world, with 146 executions reportedly carried out last year. Only China and Iran were thought to have executed more people in 2017.

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has sought to bolster its international image with splashy business events and diplomatic outreach. However, the country has bristled at criticism of its handling of human rights, resulting in a diplomatic spat with Canada earlier this month after the country’s foreign minister tweeted a message in Arabic that expressed alarm over the detention of a women’s rights activist who had relatives in Canada.

Asked about Ghomgham’s trial on Tuesday, the office of Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told the Globe and Mail newspaper that “Canada is extremely concerned by the arrests of women’s rights activists” and that these concerns have been raised by with the Saudi government.

Kareem Fahim and Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul contributed to this story.</s>Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five human rights activists from the kingdom's Eastern Province currently on trial in a secretive terrorism court, groups including Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

Among the detainees is Israa al-Ghomgham, whom Saudi activists said was the first woman to possibly face the death penalty for rights-related work. Charges against her include incitement to protest and providing moral support to rioters.

"Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behavior, is monstrous," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, said in a statement on Wednesday.

A government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Activists said the trial was ongoing, and denied social media reports that the detainees had already been executed.

Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy where public protests and political parties are banned, has enacted some high-profile social and economic reforms in recent years under powerful young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

They have, however, been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, with dozens of clerics, intellectuals and activists arrested in the past year, including women who had campaigned for the right to drive in the deeply conservative Muslim country.</s>Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for five human rights activists who are currently being tried by the country’s terrorism tribunal, according to rights groups.

Among the detainees is Israa al-Ghomgham, who Saudi activists say is the first woman to face capital punishment for human rights-related work.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Tuesday the charges against the activists “do not resemble recogniseable crimes” and include “incitement to protest”, “chanting slogans hostile to the regime” and “providing moral support to rioters”.

Authorities have held the five activists, along with another not facing the death penalty, in pretrial detention without legal representation for more than two years.

They are due to appear in court again on October 28, according to HRW.

“Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behaviour, is monstrous,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW.

ALQST, a UK-based group advocating for human rights in Saudi Arabia, previously reported the public prosecutor’s decision on Twitter on Sunday.

The rights group also denied social media reports that the detainees had already been executed, saying the case was “still under review.”

A prominent activist, al-Ghomgham documented mass demonstrations in the kingdom’s Eastern Province from 2011, before being arrested along with her husband in 2015.

Ghomgham and the other activists are being tried by Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), which was set up in 2008 to try terrorism cases and has since been used to prosecute peaceful dissidents, according to HRW.

A deeply conservative absolute monarchy where public protests and political parties are banned, Saudi Arabia has enacted some high-profile social and economic reforms since Mohammed bin Salman became crown prince in June 2017.

Bin Salman has courted Western partners to support his economic reform plan, offering billions of dollars of arms sales and promising to modernise the kingdom.

In September 2017, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud signed a royal degree lifting the ban on women driving and greater participation in the public sphere was opened up to women.

This has coincided with ongoing arrests of prominent Saudi women’s rights activists who had publicly advocated for gender equality, the right for women to drive and an end to the country’s male guardianship system, which threaten Bin Salman’s image as a reformer.

At least 13 women have been arrested since May. While a number have been released, nine remain held without charge.

“Every day, the Saudi monarchy’s unrestrained despotism makes it harder for its public relations teams to spin the fairy tale of ‘reform’ to allies and international business,” said Whitson.

“If the Crown Prince is truly serious about reform, he should immediately step in to ensure no activist is unjustly detained for his or her human-rights work”.</s>Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five human rights activists from the kingdom’s Eastern Province currently on trial in a secretive terrorism court, groups including Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

Among the detainees is Israa al-Ghomgham, whom Saudi activists said was the first woman to possibly face the death penalty for rights-related work. Charges against her include incitement to protest and providing moral support to rioters.

Monstrous, says HRW

 “Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behaviour, is monstrous,” Sarah Leah Whitson, official at HRW, said in a statement on Wednesday. ALQST, a London-based Saudi rights group, reported the decision involving Ghomgham’s case earlier this week. A government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Activists said the trial was ongoing, and denied social media reports that the detainees had already been executed.

Saudi Arabia, under its powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has sought to crack down on dissent, with many activists, including women, arrested in the last one year.

Protests in 2011

 Ghomgham is a prominent Shia Muslim activist who documented mass demonstrations in the Eastern Province starting in 2011. She was arrested from her home in December 2015.

Most of the country’s Shia minority lives in the oil-producing Eastern Province and some have complained that their religious ceremonies are banned or interfered with by Sunni authorities, and that they lack opportunities for work and education. The government has denied the charges.

Saudi Arabia has previously executed Shia activists on what rights groups called politically-motivated charges.</s>Saudi Arabian prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for a human rights activist who may be the first woman in the country's history to face execution over her cause, human rights campaigners said.

Israa al-Ghomgham, 29, was arrested in 2015 for participating in anti-government protests and endorsing human rights on social media websites, Human Rights Watch said. At the time, she had been demonstrating to call for an end to anti-Shia discrimination in a majority-Sunni country. Both she and her husband were arrested, NBC News reported.

Al-Ghomgham has been imprisoned since then and faces charges related to peaceful activism, Human Rights Watch said.

EX-BEAUTY QUEEN ACCUSED OF HIRING HIT MAN TO KILL WEALTHY HUSBAND GOES ON TRIAL

“Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behavior, is monstrous,” Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Division, said.

HRW, citing Saudi activists, said al-Ghomgham is the first woman to “possibly face the death penalty for activism for her human-rights related work.” Many campaigners also fear it would set a "dangerous precedent" in the country. The Guardian noted that the country has “one of the world’s highest rates of execution” and has killed women before.

Al-Ghomgham is slated to appear in court on Oct. 28, when a judge will confirm or reverse prosecutors’ request for the death penalty, reports said.

Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, has been shaking up the country since coming into power. The 32-year-old is pushing to modernize the conservative Islamic state, such as allowing women to drive for the first time and reopening movie theaters again after 35 years.

The Guardian noted the trial could cast a shadow on the crown prince despite his efforts.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia expelled Canadian Ambassador Dennis Horak and ordered Saudi citizens studying in Canada to leave the country, citing critics of the Saudi regime's arrests of human rights activists.

Despite the tension between Canada and Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have a close relationship after President Trump said he wanted to rebuild relationships with the kingdom.

Fox News’ Benjamin Hall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five human rights activists from the kingdom’s Eastern Province currently on trial in a secretive terrorism court, groups including Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

Among the detainees is Israa al-Ghomgham, whom Saudi activists said was the first woman to possibly face the death penalty for rights-related work. Charges against her include incitement to protest and providing moral support to rioters.

Executions in Saudi Arabia are typically carried out by beheading with a sword.

“Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behaviour, is monstrous,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, said in a statement on Wednesday.

A government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Activists said the trial was ongoing, and denied social media reports that the detainees had already been executed.

Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy where public protests and political parties are banned, has enacted some high-profile social and economic reforms in recent years under powerful young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

They have, however, been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, with dozens of clerics, intellectuals and activists arrested in the past year, including women who had campaigned for the right to drive in the deeply conservative Muslim country.

A round-up of senior royals, ministers and businessmen last November on charges of corruption sent shock waves through the kingdom, stunning allies and foreign investors. Most of those detainees were released after reaching undisclosed financial settlements with the government.

Ghomgham is a prominent Shiite Muslim activist who documented mass demonstrations in the Eastern Province starting in 2011. She was arrested from her home in December 2015 along with her husband.

Most of the country’s Shiite minority lives in the oil-producing Eastern Province and some have complained that their religious ceremonies are banned or interfered with by Sunni authorities, and that they lack opportunities for work and education. The government has denied the charges.

Saudi Arabia has previously executed Shiite activists on what rights groups called politically-motivated charges. It views protests among Shiites in the context of tensions with Shiite power and regional rival Iran, which it has accused of fomenting the unrest.

The authorities have carried out security operations against suspected Shiite militants in the Eastern Province, which has seen unrest and occasional armed attacks for years.
According to human rights campaigners, Saudi Arabian prosecutors seek the death penalty for six activists for inciting anti-government protests and morally supporting rioters.