The Saudi Arabian government is launching a sustained assault on human rights under the guise of combating terrorism. That acusation is made in a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International. The Measures in the Gulf State adopted after the 9/11 attacks have, according to Amnesty, made an already dire situation worse.
A Saudi Arabian princess has just been granted asylum in Britain after bearing an illegitimate child with a British man. She would, she said, be stoned to death if forced to return. The case is one of a small number of asylum claims brought by Saudis that have been handled secretly by the British authorities. To acknowledge such claims would, according to diplomats, amount to open criticism of the Royal House of Saud and the country's strict Sharia laws.
Iceberg
But a high-profile case like this is just the tiny tip of a very large iceberg according to Amnesty International. Today the organisation publishes a comprehensive report into the deterioration in human rights in the country since 2001.
"Please do not abandon us to the claws of tyranny and blind power. I fear for myself, my children and especially for my husband, who is in detention. I don't know what has happened to my husband, where he is, or what will happen to him. As for my children and for me, without him, we are the living dead. Please help me to get my husband justice. I beg of you in the Name of Allah."
Torture
That's one of the many pleas Amnesty International has received from the families of those who have fallen foul of the Saudi Arabian authorities. The report details thousands of arrests, torture of detainees, deaths in suspicious circumstances and summary trials held in secret. 'And all in the name of security' according to Lamri Chirouf, one of the report's authors:
"One primary reason has been the introduction or adoption of anti-terrorism measures since 2001, which are void of any international human rights safeguards. So people are detained, in secret places for months without their families knowing where they are, then they are held without trial or charge for years, never knowing what's going to happen to them. And those who may be brought to trial, they are invariably convicted after secret and summary trials about which very little is disclosed."
Terrorism
Given Saudi Arabia's history of terrorist attacks, Amnesty acknowledges that the country has not just the right, but a duty to protect it's citizens. But the human rights' organisation is concerned by the scale of the arrests and detentions compared to 8 years ago.
"Prior to 2001, the number of people detained did not run more than a few hundreds whereas the ministry of interior's statistics themselves, released in 2007, said that they had arrested 9,000 people between 2003 and2004 and that 3,000 of those were still detained without trial. Different sources think that that number must be at least twice that. At least. The secrecy is such that only the Ministry of Interior knows how many people are being detained and denied their fundamental human rights."
Criticism
The problem, according to Mr Chirouf, is that Saudi Arabia's anti-terrorism laws are too wide and too ill defined. He refers to a number of cases documented in the report of known human rights' activists who have detained simply for criticising the laws.
"They are held because they said even those suspected of terrorist crimes have the right to fair trial, have the right to know when they will be released. The measures adopted in Saudi are so vague, the law defines the crime of terrorism in a manner that would make me an offender for speaking like I am now to you. That would be considered support of terrorism, or I'm a terrorist myself."
The United Nations has established a framework for fighting crimes of terrorism which incorporates human rights' safeguards. Saudi Arabia's laws incorporate none of these safeguards, says Mr Chirouf. And given the country's position on the UN Human Rights' Council it should not be treating suspects the way it has been doing for the past 8 years.
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THE BOEING COMPANY AIDING AND ABETTING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA
The Boeing Company, a U.S. company incorporated in the State of Delaware and with corporate offices in Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri and its wholly owned subsidiary Boeing International Support Systems, Saudi Arabia (BISS) are reportedly engaged in the practice of passport confiscation, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and fraudulent recruitment practices upon U.S. Citizens and Third Country National (TCN) workers. The Boeing Company may be held responsible for violations of U.S. Law and international law for "Aiding and Abetting" their subsidiary company, BISS which recruits employees out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is alleged to have confiscated passports from US Citizens and Third Country National workers in Saudi Arabia.
As reference, the U.S. State Department's 2009 report on "Human Trafficking" details the unconscionable and disturbing ongoing human rights violations that are presently taking place in the country of Saudi Arabia. A report authored by former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, (2006) identifies Saudi Arabia as a "Tier 3" country whose government does not fully comply with the minimum standards and is not making significant efforts to eliminate human rights violations in their country. The report further states that the United States employs a "zero tolerance" policy against human trafficking both domestically and abroad. A third report by the Department of Defense, OIG dated January 15, 2010, provides information relating to "Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act," January 10, 2006 that gives the United States Government authorization to terminate grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for "Trafficking in Persons" (TIP) related violations.
A lawsuit brought by Attorney Kissandra L. Tysman of the Tysman Law Firm, located in Mesa, Arizona was filed on May 7, 2010 in U.S. District Court, Phoenix, Arizona against "The Boeing Company" and it wholly owned subsidiary BISS. The lawsuit alleges that her client Mr. Robin Petersen, a pilot and former U.S. Navy Commander who became injured overseas while employed by Boeing/BISS was not allowed to return to the United States for medical treatment in that he had his U.S. passport confiscated; was held against his will; and was not provided with an "Exit Visa" in which to leave the country of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Petersen had made several written requests for the return of his passport to "The Boeing Company" Operations Manager, in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Shaun A. Ford, and also contacted Mr. W. James McNerney, Jr., "The Boeing Company" CEO by Federal Express letter, detailing the fraudulent activity, unethical business practices, and violations of human rights that he had observed and experienced while employed by Boeing/BISS. Mr. McNerney never responded to Mr. Petersen's concerns and request for help. The lawsuit also alleges that a number of other U.S. Veterans and Third Country National workers who were employed by Boeing/BISS in Saudi Arabia had their passports confiscated and were subject to inhumane treatment.
Mr. Petersen made several attempts to get help from the U.S. Consulate located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was finally helped by a consulate security official in June 2009, who then ordered Boeing/BISS company officials to return Mr. Petersen's U.S. passport and provide him with the required "Exit Visa" in which to depart the country of Saudi Arabia. On June 8, 2009, and after six months without having the freedom to travel, Mr. Petersen was able to return to the United States to get the proper treatment he needed for his injury. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Arizona, May 7, 2010 (case # 2:2010CV00999 Petersen v Boeing) and lists the following causes of action:
Count 1, Confiscation of U.S. Passports
Count 2, Violations of RICO statutes
Count 3, False imprisonment
Count 4, Breach of Contract
Count 5, Fraud
Count 6, Intentional Inflection of emotional distress
Count 7, Failure to pay wages
Although this lawsuit has been filed in the United States, it is important to know that there is an effort on the part of several worldwide organizations to hold executives of companies such as Mr. McNerney, CEO of "The Boeing Company" criminally responsible for willfully aiding and abetting their business partners who engage in human rights violations.
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