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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
----------------------------------
29 July 2002
Further information on UA 35/01 issued
6 February 2001
- Risk of Execution/Legal and Torture
Concerns
SAUDI ARABIA
Alexander Mitchell (m), British national
William Sampson (m), Canadian national
Raf Skivens (m), Belgian national,
and others
Amnesty International is concerned at
press reports
that Alexander Mitchell and William
Sampson have been
sentenced to death by a Saudi Arabian
court following
a summary, secret and unfair trial.
They were accused in connection with
the bombings
which took place in Riyadh in November
2000. Their
'confessions', shown on Saudi Arabian
television in
February 2001 before their trial, may
have been the
main or contributory evidence in their
conviction and
sentencing. Raf Skivens, and five other
defendants
involved in the same trial, are said
to have received
prison sentences.
Amnesty International considers the
televised 'confession' of the three
as implying their
guilt before any trial has taken place,
and as such,
is a breach of Article 11(1) of the
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
which states that
'Everyone charged with a penal offence
has the right
to be presumed innocent until proved
guilty according
to law in a public trial at which he
has had all the
guarantees for his defense'.
FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals:
- seeking clarification of press reports
that
Alexander Mitchell and William Sampson
have been
sentenced to death; and, if true, calling
for
commutation of the death sentence;
- seeking clarification of the exact
charges against
all the defendants together with the
trial procedure
followed in their case;
- seeking assurances that all detainees
are treated
humanely, and urging that they be given
immediate
access to family, lawyers and medical
care as
necessary;
- urging that the 1984 UN Safeguards
guaranteeing the
protection of the rights of prisoners
facing the death
penalty must be adhered to immediately.
APPEALS TO:
King and Prime Minister, The Custodian
of the Two Holy Shrines:
His Majesty King Fahd bin 'Abdul 'Aziz
Al-Saud
Office of H.M. The King
Royal Court
Riyadh
Saudi Arabia
Telegrams: King Fahd, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
Salutation: Your Majesty.
Minister of the Interior:
His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin
'Abdul 'Aziz
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
P.O. Box 2933
Airport Road
Riyadh 11134
Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 403 1185
Telegrams: Minister of Interior, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia
Salutation: Your
Royal Highness
Minister of Justice:
His Excellency Dr. 'Abdullah bin Muhammad
bin
Ibrahim Al-Sheikh
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
University Street
Riyadh 11137
Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 1 401 1741
Telegram: Minister of Justice, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Prince Bandar Bin Sultan
Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20037
Please send appeals immediately. Check
with the
Colorado office between 9:00 am and
6:00 pm, Mountain
Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals
after
September 9, 2002.
Amnesty International is a worldwide
grassroots
movement that promotes and defends
human rights.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258
7881
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