Source: dailystar.com.lb
DUBAI: Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged Saudi Arabia to free two citizens held without trial for two years after converting to an offshoot of Islam banned in the conservative Sunni kingdom.
Sultan al-Anzi, aged 33, and Saud al-Anzi, 35, were arrested and jailed in May 2012, three months after joining the Ahmadiyya group and refusing to abandon their belief, New York-based HRW said.
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (R) chats with Saudi Deputy Defence Minister Salman bin Sultan (2R) before boarding his flight at King Abdulaziz International Airport on May 14, 2014 in Jeddah. AFP PHOTO/POOL/MANDEL NGAN
The group said it urged Saudi King Abdullah back in August 2012 to release the pair, but never received a response.
“Not only have Saudi authorities interfered with the personal beliefs of these two men, but they’ve left them sitting in jail for two years in legal limbo with no end in sight,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East director.
” Saudi Arabia needs to stop policing people’s personal beliefs,” Whitson said.
“King Abdullah has won acclaim for… Read more: dailystar.com.lb
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Saudi Arabia: 2 Years Behind Bars on Apostasy Accusation – Ahmadiyya Converts Held Without Charge
Not only have Saudi authorities interfered with the personal beliefs of these two men, but they’ve left them sitting in jail for two years in legal limbo with no end in sight. The kingdom’s repression of religious dissidents stains its human rights record.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director
(Beirut) – Saudi authorities should immediately release two citizens held without charge for two years because of their religious beliefs, Human Rights Watch said today. Officials arrested Sultan al-`Anzi, 33, and Sa`ud al-`Anzi, 35, on May 14, 2012, and have not responded to multiple requests from Human Rights Watch and an organization for the Ahmadiyya Muslim religious group for information on their whereabouts and condition. Activists with knowledge of the …read more at hrw.org
Categories: Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Arab World, Asia, Islam, Saudi Arabia