Saudi jails activist for 4 years

Activists Tuesday said that a court in Riyadh has sentenced prominent Saudi rights campaigner Mohamad al-Bajadi to four years in prison. According to fellow activists, Bajadi was detained in March 2011 after he voiced his support for the families demonstrating outside the interior ministry in Riyadh to demand the release of jailed relatives. The activists have said that he has been on hunger strike for a month. Fellow activist, Fowzan al-Harby told the Reuters news agency: "Last Tuesday, after the news of the hunger strike came out, they took him to the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh and he objected to the legitimacy of the court ... and despite that the judge sentenced him". Bajadi sent a handwritten letter to fellow activist Mohammad al-Qahtani stating that the charges against him included forming a human rights association, tarnishing Saudi Arabia's reputation in the media, questioning the independence of the judiciary, encouraging political detainees' relatives to demonstrate, and owning illegal books. A spokesman for the justice ministry said he was unable to comment on the case. However last week, an interior ministry spokesman denied that Bajadi was on hunger strike, saying that he was "in good health, consuming food on a regular basis". It should be noted that Bajadi's condition cannot be independently verified. This is due to the fact that the Specialised Criminal Court, which is handling this case and also handles security cases, including the trials of Islamist militants accused of carrying out bombings and shootings in the kingdom, is privy to releasing information and updates on its cases. This has been stated by Bajadi and other activists who say that the court holds trials in secret and deprives defendants of their legal rights, such as access to legal representation. The group also mentions that the court is directly run by the interior ministry, which controls the Saudi police and security forces. The justice ministry spokesman however said the court falls under his ministry. Amnesty International said Monday that Bajadi was "a prisoner of conscience held solely for the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly", and demanded his immediate release. The oil rich country of Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy that has no elected parliament and has little tolerance for public dissent. The king announced a generous spending package early last year, in a bid to avoid the regional unrest that was sweeping across other Arab countries. Last year, two independent Saudi rights groups said that large numbers of people, including some political prisoners, were being held in detention centers run by the state security apparatus.