Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Rights group report 'ignores Islamic law'
A prominent Saudi human rights activist has described the Human Rights Watch report on the rights situation in Saudi Arabia as contradicting the truth in some of its items and does not take into account in many cases the religious background of the people of Saudi Arabia.
- By Abdul Rahman Shaheen, Correspondent
- Published: 23:09 May 26, 2009
Riyadh: A prominent Saudi human rights activist has described the Human Rights Watch report on the rights situation in Saudi Arabia as contradicting the truth in some of its items and does not take into account in many cases the religious background of the people of Saudi Arabia.
In a statement to Gulf News, Dr Mufleh Al Qahtani, Chairman of the National Society for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, said, "It is quite clear that the writers of such reports ignore the religious side and the beliefs of the people, a matter which makes their reports subject to criticism from governments and people of the respective countries".
"The talk about carrying out 28 death penalties until the month of April may be true, but these punishments were based on jurisdictions under the provisions of Islamic laws after completion of all judicial proceedings in three stages with a number of judges involved in each stage," he added.
He noted that the Saudi judiciary, in its rulings, does not differentiate between Saudi citizens and foreigners, and that the death penalty is carried out only on those who commit major crimes according to Islamic law.
Al Qahtani said that many people are suspicious about the credibility of the reports issued by some international organisations concerned with human rights because they reflect the social values of Western societies only and never take into account the religious values of other nations.
"What the Western societies consider a basic right and essential aspect of freedom may be seen by us Muslims as a punishable offence by law. An example of this is the view of Western society towards the rights of homosexuals, adulterers and other offenders of the moral values in general," he said.
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