Bahrain Mirror: The Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) organization stated that the Government of Saudi Arabia still targets and prosecutes Shiite political and religious activists who speak out against the government.

In a statement published on its official website, ADHRB said Saudi Arabia is detaining Shiite clerics, and sentencing them to long years of prison or death.

The statement added, "Among those it [Saudi Government] targets are dissident clerics from the kingdom's restive Eastern Province Shiite minority like Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. Sheikh Nimr was a forceful critic of the government." ADHRB went on to say, "Due to his speeches, Saudi security forces harassed and ultimately arrested and executed him on 2 January 2016. Since his execution, the kingdom has continued to target dissident Shiite clerics, (...) raiding the headquarters of a Shiite religious center, harassing the family of Shiite clerics, and freezing Shiite clerics' bank accounts."

Furthermore, the report noted that among "those the authorities have arrested is prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Mohammed Hassan al-Habib, who was among Sheikh Nimr's top supporters and defenders. Officials detained Sheikh Habib and three of his associates on 8 July 2016 and held them incommunicado for three days before transferring them to a Riyadh prison for interrogation before arresting them. According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ADHRB), authorities did not state a reason for Sheikh Habib's detention. However, it is believed that his arrest is due to his vocal support for the right to protest peacefully."

The ADHRB report further clarified that Sheikh al-Habib "is the imam of one of the largest mosques in the Eastern Province governorate and has used his position to advocate for increased social justice, more freedoms, and an end to anti-Shiite sectarian discrimination. He has also called on the Saudi government to release all prisoners of conscience detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression, hold security forces who fired on protesters accountable, and grant Saudi Arabia's Shiite population the right to participate in politics."

According to ADHRB, "Saudi officials have harassed and arrested other Shiite clerics and their families. On 21 July 2016, security forces misled the family of Sheikh Samir al-Helal into thinking they would be allowed to visit him in prison for the first time since his arrest on 16 December 2015. However, officials separated members of his family and interrogated his two wives for more than four hours. On 15 August, security forces summoned Sheikh Hussein Ayesh, a prominent al-Ahsa cleric, to the Investigation and Prosecution Authority, where they interrogated him concerning his alleged money laundering actions."

"On 31 August 2016, Saudi authorities raided the headquarters of a Shiite religious center in Mecca and arrested two of the religious instructors. Furthermore, authorities have frozen 17 bank accounts of Shiite clerics from Qatif under the pretext of collecting illegal funds and money laundering," the report stated.

In addition, the right watchdog indicated that Shiite clerics in Saudi Arabia are often leaders of change and social justice movement, which means they have a public position of denouncing the government's violations, limitations of freedom, and discrimination policies.

"As a result, the Saudi government targets Shiite clerics, harassing and detaining them, in an effort to silence their opposition and dissent. The religiously-focused nature of the government's actions infringes on Saudi Shiites' rights to freedom of religion and opinion as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Saudi Arabia should halt the targeting of Shiite religious figures and immediately and unconditionally release all religious figures and political prisoners. It should enshrine the principles of freedom of religion and freedom of expression in its domestic legislation and accede to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," the organization concluded in its statement.

Arabic Version