His Royal Highness Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud,
Ministry of the Interior,
PO Box 2933 Airport Road,
Riyadh 11134,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Fax +9661 403 1185

9 July 2007

Your Excellency,

Re:     Sulieman al Rushudi, lawyer
          Essam al Basrawi, lawyer

We are writing on behalf of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute in connection with the rights of two lawyers, Sulieman al Rushudi and Essam al Basrawi, who we understand are currently being held incommunicado in Saudi Arabia.
In its role as a dual membership organisation, comprising 30,000 individual lawyers and over 195 Bar Associations and Law Societies, the IBA influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession. Its member organisations cover all continents. The IBA’s Human Rights Institute works across the association, helping to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.

The IBA has received several reliable reports that raise concern as to the circumstances surrounding the arrest and detention of Mr al-Rushudi and Mr al-Baswari. The two lawyers and eight of their associates were arrested in February 2007 and are still awaiting trial. There are serious concerns that the two lawyers and other of their associates are suffering ill-treatment while being held in detention.

Concern has also been raised with regard to the apparent motives behind the arrest. Mr al-Rushudi and Mr al-Baswari were allegedly arrested on charges related to ‘collecting money for terrorism’. Although this has been given as the reason for their arrest, reports suggest that they were in fact arrested in connection with their peaceful activities in defence of human rights. The two lawyers have consistently spoken out in defence of human rights in Saudi Arabia and have been known to voice criticism of government policy on this matter.

We should respectfully like to remind you of Article 26 of the Saudi Arabia Constitution (Basic Law 1992) which asserts that the State ‘protects human rights in accordance with Islamic Shari'ah'. Furthermore, Article 19(e) of the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, a declaration of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference joined by Saudi Arabia in 1969, states that ‘a defendant is innocent until his guilt is proven in a fair trial in which he shall be given all the guarantees of defence’. Article 36 of the Saudi Arabian Constitution also imposes a restriction on arbitrary arrest except in cases specified by statutes. No evidence has yet been received to suggest that acts have been committed by either of the lawyers that might harm or threaten the State's security, nor do they amount to an infringement of any other specified statutes. Furthermore, all detainees should, regardless of the reason for their detention, be subject to the high standards of treatment of prisoners protected by the Cairo Declaration and under international law.

With regard to concerns that Mr al-Rushudi and Mr al-Baswari are not receiving adequate protection from the State for alleged ill-treatment, we would like to remind you that any such abuse would constitute a violation of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Furthermore, such action would also contravene the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) which prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and include a number of provisions which have been recognised to have entered into customary international law.

We should also like to draw your attention to Article 23 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which provides that 'lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly’. In particular, they shall have the right to ‘take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights'. Additionally, Article 16 states that 'Governments shall ensure that lawyers (a) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; and (c) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognised professional duties, standards and ethics'.

We would like to request further information on the reason behind the arrest of the two lawyers and ask that an immediate investigation be conducted into their alleged ill-treatment. We are particularly concerned that, despite having been arrested in February, those in detention have not yet been convicted of a criminal offence; we request that the lawyers must be tried immediately by an independent and impartial court or must be released.

We would be grateful to receive your assurances that our concerns will be investigated and if a breach of law has occurred then those responsible should be brought to justice. Furthermore, we request that the rights encompassed under international and domestic law are respected for all citizens and that not only is this observed but it is seen to be observed in the case of the two detainees referred to above.

Yours sincerely,

Ambassador Emilio Cárdenas   
Justice Richard Goldstone
Co-Chairs of the IBA's Human Rights Institute

CC: HRH Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, Ambassador to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland