Copenhagen – International lawyers who participated in the seminar organized by Geneva Council for Human Rights and Justice (GCHJ) denounced the appalling reality of suppressing human rights in Saudi Arabia and restricting public freedoms.
The seminar was held at “the House of Culture” in Falli, Copenhagen, Denmark, entitled “Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, suppression and injustice”
A number of international human rights figures attended the seminar, such as: Hani Al-Rayes _a writer and representative of the American Organization for Democracy (ADHRB) in Bahrain, Ali Al-Balawi_ a journalist and jurist of Moroccan origins and member of the Municipal Council in Copenhagen, and Ibrahim Ismail_ the President of the Syrian Association. Moreover, Ali Yahya, a writer, media and public relations coordinator from Beirut delivered a speech on this occasion.
The seminar discussed the religious, cultural and political freedoms in Saudi Arabia, the control of the royal court and some members of the ruling family on the decision making and the sources of national wealth, and women’s issues in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it discussed the ruling family’s position in tracking the local and new international changes and globalization within the vision of 2030 approved by the Crown Prince. Moreover, the seminar talked about the involvement of Saudi Arabia in the gross violations of human rights in Yemen, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and elsewhere.
Sten Johans, the political activist of the Social Democratic Party of Denmark, called for the equality of Saudi women in the same way that Danish women fought for their rights since the beginning of the twentieth century.
“Saudi Arabia lacks independent legal institutions that can question the authorities controlled by members of the royal family,” not to mention the “repression s freedom of expression and the freedom of the press and human, the severe torture in its prisons, and its political, intellectual and religious violations.”, said Ibrahim Ismail.
“The Saudi Arabia authorities did not only do that, but also funded armed groups in several places in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chechnya, Dagestan, Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali and others, and some of these groups classified on the lists of international terrorism.”, he added.
He also referred to the participation of Saudi aircraft in the bombardment of many civilian communities in Libya, Yemen and other Arabic courtiers without any international legitimacy and UN resolutions,. He supported his speech by citing” the bombing of a funeral tent by the Saudi Air Forces in the Directorate of “Arheb”, and bombing another funeral tent in Sana’a which resulted in the injury of more than 700 people. “
He added that this bombardment and the unjust siege has led to the spread of epidemics and the Cholera and diphtheria infection of more than one million Yemenis which resulted in the deaths of two thousand people. Some of them died due to lack of appropriate treatment due to lack of medicines.
He also pointed to the the siege imposed by the Saudi authorities on Qatar due to the political disputes, stressing that the Saudi authorities are violating the rules of international law and the Islamic law which they claim to be committed to.
