JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, April 9 (Reuters) – A prominent Saudi
rights activist, who has been on a hunger strike for almost a
month to protest at his year-long detention, has also stopped
drinking water, rights activists said, blaming authorities for
the deterioration of his health.
Mohamad al-Bajadi was detained in March 2011, activists
said, for supporting families demonstrating outside the Interior
Ministry in Riyadh to demand the release of detained relatives.
His trial, on charges including tarnishing the reputation of the
state, has been suspended as he refused to recognize the court.
“The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)
holds the Interior Ministry … responsible for the
deterioration of Mohamad al-Bajadi’s health, who has been on an
open hunger strike since March 11 and since Saturday morning has
stopped drinking water, causing him to faint four times and
putting his life at risk,” the group said in a statement on
Monday.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said he was not aware of the
case and could not comment on it but activists told Reuters they
are updated about al-Bajadi’s health through messages leaked to
visitors of other inmates at al-Hayer prison in Riyadh, where he
is held.
“There is no direct contact but we get messages from
visitors of other inmates … We are getting messages from
people who have indirect contact with him that he is still on
hunger strike and last night we received a message that he
stopped drinking water,” said Mohammad al-Qahtani, a Saudi
activist.
Saudi Arabia is a monarchy that has no elected parliament
and almost no tolerance for public dissent. The kingdom – mostly
thanks to a generous spending package announced early last year
– has avoided the kind of protests that rocked other Arab
countries and resulted in the fall of four heads of state.
The U.S. ally has seen sporadic protests despite a ban on
demonstrations, mainly by a Shi’ite minority in the eastern part
of the kingdom, resulting in dozens of detentions.
Independent rights groups estimate that the number of
prisoners ranges between 12,000-30,000 but the Interior Ministry
denies there are any political prisoners in the kingdom. The
ministry said last year it was holding 5,696 people for
“militant”-related cases, most of whom appeared before courts.
Saudi Crown Prince Nayef ordered the release of
“non-dangerous” prisoners and those whose sentences are almost
complete, the daily al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday,
citing a letter from the prince addressed to all governors of
Saudi Arabia and the head of bureau of investigation and public
prosecution.
The pardon, which was ordered to cope with the high build up
of inmates in Saudi prisons, excludes detainees found guilty in
cases of national security, al-Watan said.
(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Giles Elgood)
