The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (''ACPRA'') ( ar, جمعية الحقوق المدنية والسياسية في السعودية) is a Saudi Arabian

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

created in 2009. On 9 March 2013, the Saudi court sentenced two of its prominent leaders to at least 10 years in prison for "offences that included sedition and giving inaccurate information to foreign media", while dissolving the group. The association is also known in Arabic by its acronym HASEM.

Creation

ACPRA was created in 2009 by 11 human rights activists and academics in response to what was seen as a worsening

situation in Saudi Arabia. The 11 founders are Professor Abdulkareem Yousef al-Khathar, Dr. Abdulrahman Hamid al-Hamid, Professor Abdullah H. al-Hamid, who is a former professor of

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

and founding member of the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights, Fahad Abdulaziz Ali al-Orani, Fowzan Mohsen al-Harbi, Easa Hamid al-Hamid, Mhana Mohammed al-Faleh, Dr. Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani, Mohammad Hamad al-Mohaisen, Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi and Saud Ahmed al-Doughaither.

Aims

It aims to promote human rights awareness, focussing on the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international human rights instruments, it calls for an elected parliament and the creation of legal institutions to support transparency and accountability. The ACPRA also calls for laws to protect minority rights and intends to document human rights violations.

Structure and leadership

, the ACPRA was led by Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani.

Statements and reports

In January 2011, ACPRA and Human Rights First Society complained to King Abdullah about the

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

of septuagenarian Judge Suliman al-Reshoudi, whose feet were chained to his bed each night and who was forced to sit up during the day. In late March 2011, ACPRA's leader, Mohammad Fahad Al-Qahtani, stated that he saw police detain about 50 out of 100 protestors at the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

in Riyadh.

Government responses

ACPRA co-founder Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi (also ''al-Bjady'') was arrested on 21 March 2011, during the

2011 Saudi Arabian protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: * 11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn * ...

, in

Buraidah Buraidah ( ar, بريدة ') is the capital and largest city of Al-Qassim Region in north-central Saudi Arabia in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. Buraydah lies equidistant from the Red Sea to the west and Persian Gulf to the east. Its known ...

Mabahith The Saudi Mabahith ( ar, المباحث العامة, , General Investigation Directorate), also spelled ''Mabaheth'', is the secret police agency of the Presidency of State Security in Saudi Arabia, and deals with domestic security and counter- ...

, the internal security agency. ACPRA stated that the arrest was

arbitrary Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". It is also used to refer to a choice made without any specific criterion or restraint. Arbitrary decisions are not necess ...

, in violation of the

Basic Law of Saudi Arabia The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia (alternative name: Basic System of Governance; ar, النظام الأساسي للحكم, ') is a constitution-like charter divided into nine chapters, consisting of 83 articles. The Basic Law (in Article One) st ...

and the ''Law of Criminal Procedures''. Al-Bejadi appeared in the Specialized Criminal Court in August 2011 on charges of "insurrection against the ruler, instigating demonstrations, and speaking with foreign

edia ''Edia'' is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae. Species *''Edia minutissima'' Smith, 1906 *''Edia semiluna ''Edia semiluna'' is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Smith in 1905. It is found in southern Arizona and M ...

channels." Judge al-'Abd al-Latif prevented al-Bejadi's defence lawyers from attending the August trial session. On 18 June 2012, ACPRA co-founder and leader Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani was charged in a Saudi court for his human rights activities. On 29 June, the

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

spoke on al-Qahtani's behalf at the 20th session of the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

. Another ACPRA co-founder, Abdullah al-Hamid, was charged with similar offences on 11 June 2012.

References

External links

ACPRA official web site
(mostly in Arabic; blocked in KSA - now defunct)
Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)
(now defunct) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association Human rights organisations based in Saudi Arabia 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests 2009 establishments in Saudi Arabia 2013 disestablishments in Saudi Arabia Organizations established in 2009 Organizations disestablished in 2013 Organizations of the Arab Spring Saudi Arabian democracy movements