Further Information
Reports reaching Front Line suggest that new charges may be brought against him so that he may tried before the State Security Court. Al Shommari fears that he may be charged with terrorism as this was the case when he was detained for 4 months on a similar charge back in 2007. Front Line is calling on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sheikh Al Shommari as his continued arbitrary detention is directly connected to his peaceful and legitimate work as a human rights defender.
Sheikh Al Shommari remains arbitrarily detained at Al Damman General Prison. His case appears to have reached a stalemate following the dismissal by a court of the initial charge of "annoying others" which had been brought against him following his arrest. The case was sent back by the court to the prosecutor to decide on next steps. The prosecutor is refusing to release him arguing that it is for the Minister of Interior to decide on the case.
Sheikh Al Shommari states that he has received a verbal message through his son to the effect that the Minister of Interior, Prince Naif, has ordered the setting up of a committee to look again into the case. This measure and the fact that he remains in detention without charge is apparently a form of punishment in reprisal for his calls for the improvement of conditions inside the prison where he is being held and for convincing a number of other prisoners to sign a petition to this effect back in January 2011. He is also being targeted for calling for the termination of discrimination against and the respect of the rights of minorities, women, migrant workers and the Shi'a community in Saudi Arabia.
Before his imprisonment as a gesture to mend the rift between the Sunni and Shi'a communities in Saudi Arabia and to promote religious tolerance he led (along with other Sunni Muslims) Friday prayers in a Shi'a mosque . As a result of this he was attacked by Sunni Muslim extremists and subjected to death threats and verbal and other abuses.
At one point his house was attacked by someone who wanted to attack him with a knife. He is also being criticised for advocating the respect of woman's rights in Saudi Arabia. In this regard a lecture on women's rights he wanted to deliver at a cultural club was banned by the Ministry of Interior. He is also seen as a threat to the authorities given his writings in the press and on the net. He has already been banned from writing in the Saudi press. Members of his family including his son and daughter have been the subject of harassment and intimidation as a result of Sheikh Al Shommari's human rights work.
His human rights work inside the Dammam General Prison resulted in his being held in solitary confinement which was lifted after a protest was organised in front of the prison by his relatives. He was allowed to mix with other prisoners on condition that he does not speak about the situation inside the prison or influence other prisoners to do so. Al Shommari states that as a result of his human rights work inside the prison he was subjected to torture including being beaten by a named prison officer. This included his being shackled and suspended to an iron door.
Front Line is calling on the Saudi authorities to:
* immediately and unconditionally release Sheikh Al Shommari;
* stop the harassment of his family and friends;
* guarantee his physical and psychological integrity and ensure that he is not subjected to torture or ill-treatment;
* fully investigate all the allegations of torture with a with a view to bringing perpetrators to justice;
* allow him unfettered access to his lawyer and family;
* lift the travel ban imposed on him; and stop the harassment and intimidation of his family including his children.
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