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Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia: Free Political Prisoners Many Criminals Granted Amnesty, but Activists Remain in Prison The Saudi government should free unlawfully detained political activists, including Professor Matrook al-Faleh, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading advocates of reform, Human Rights Watch said today. Although Saudi prison officials said that they had amnestied 1,000 convicted criminals during Ramadan in September, dozens of political activists remain behind bars or are subject to arbitrary travel bans. October 3, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Separating Image from Substance in Saudi Arabia Published in Middle East Report Saudi Arabia, its image in need of polishing in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, has opened itself up to foreign scrutiny of its notoriously poor human rights record. Members of Congress now make regularly scheduled stops in the kingdom; in February 2008, the Saudis even welcomed the two-week fact-finding mission of the UN special rapporteur on violence against women. The scrutiny tends to be tightly managed: A visit to the government’s Human Rights Commission or the National Society for Human Rights, an NGO, is de rigueur. September 23, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Saudi Arabia: Shia Minority Treated as Second-Class Citizens Wahhabi Authorities Discriminate Against Ismaili Citizens The Saudi government should end its systematic discrimination against its Ismaili religious minority, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch called upon the government to set up a national institution empowered to recommend remedies for discriminatory policies and responding to individual claims. September 22, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Discrimination against Muslims in Saudi Arabia By Christoph Wilcke, Senior Researcher, Middle East and North Africa division Published in Guardian online Though tentative steps towards tolerance have been made, the plight of Saudi Ismailis shows how far the country has to go September 22, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version The Ismailis of Najran Second-class Saudi Citizens
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-376-5 September 22, 2008 Report Also available in
Download PDF, 955 KB, 89 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Saudi Arabia: Lift Travel Ban on Saudi Rights Lawyer Human Rights Watch Gives Award to Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim The Saudi government should immediately lift a travel ban on Saudi human rights lawyer Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim, a winner of the 2008 Human Rights Defender award, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also announced four other winners of the 2008 award, courageous individuals working for justice and human rights from Uzbekistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Democratic Republic of Congo. September 15, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Five Activists Win Human Rights Watch Awards Honored for Courage in Exposing Abuse and Seeking Justice Five brave and selfless advocates of human rights from Burma, Congo, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan have been awarded the prestigious 2008 Human Rights Defender Awards, Human Rights Watch said today. All five have been persecuted and threatened for their work. One winner, Saudi lawyer Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim, is, which Human Rights Watch urges the Saudi government lift so that he may receive his award in person in London. September 15, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version The Last Holdouts Ending the Juvenile Death Penalty in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-375-7 September 10, 2008 Report Also available in
Download PDF, 175 KB, 23 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release UN: Five Countries Responsible for All Executions of Juvenile Offenders Since 2005 Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen Executed 32 for Crimes Committed as Children Ending executions for crimes committed by children in just five countries would result in universal implementation of the prohibition on the juvenile death penalty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Governments should use next week’s United Nations General Assembly session opening to commit to urgently needed reforms to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law. September 8, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Middle East/North Africa: Treat Domestic Workers Fairly This Ramadan Employers Should Reflect on Responsibilities to Respect Rights of Domestic Workers At the beginning of Ramadan, a month of reflection and fasting, employers of domestic workers in the Middle East and North Africa should take special care to consider the rights of domestic workers, who work extra hours to aid with the month-long gatherings of their employers, Human Rights Watch said today. September 2, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Saudi Arabia: Implement Proposed Labor Reforms Government Should Immediately Abolish Sponsorship System Saudi Arabia should immediately implement its proposed reform to the kafala sponsorship system and extend labor protections to domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said today. Responding to the Saudi government's reaction to a recent report, "'As If I Am Not Human’: Abuses Against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia," author Nisha Varia said, “It’s a real shame when Saudis try to deflect attention from abuses against domestic workers by arguing that employers are the victims or focusing only on those women who have positive experiences.” July 21, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Saudi Arabia: Domestic Workers Face Harsh Abuses Key Reforms Stalled, Few Remedies for Slavery-Like Conditions Saudi Arabia should implement labor, immigration, and criminal justice reforms to protect domestic workers from serious human rights abuses that in some cases amount to slavery, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Employers often face no punishment for committing abuses including months or years of unpaid wages, forced confinement, and physical and sexual violence, while some domestic workers face imprisonment or lashings for spurious charges of theft, adultery, or "witchcraft." July 8, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version "As If I Am Not Human" Abuses against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-351-X July 8, 2008 Report Also available in
Download PDF, 466 KB, 137 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release The Trap of Sponsorship By Christoph Wilcke and Nisha Varia Published in Al-Hayat In its new report, “As If I Am Not Human,” Human Rights Watch presents an in-depth look into the lives of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia. After two years of research and more than 140 interviews with Asian domestic workers, recruiters, and government officials, the report details cases of forced labor, human trafficking, and slavery-like conditions and the much more widespread abuses of non-payment of salaries, forced confinement, food deprivation, excessive workload, and instances of severe psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. July 8, 2008 Commentary Also available in
Printer friendly version Protecting Domestic Workers’ Rights By Christoph Wilcke and Nisha Varia Published in Arab News DURING our last visit in March 2008 to Riyadh, we talked with a Sri Lankan woman in her fifties who worked as a housemaid. She told us that she was returning home, because her mother was dying. A year earlier, she had come to Saudi Arabia as a domestic worker after her husband had died in the 2004 tsunami, and her house and life savings were washed away. Her salary as a schoolteacher was insufficient to support her two sons in university. July 8, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Enforcing the International Prohibition on the Juvenile Death Penalty Submission for the Secretary-General's report on a death penalty moratorium Human Rights Watch's submission documents laws and practices resulting in the death penalty against juvenile offenders in the five countries known to have executed juvenile offenders since January 2005: Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. July 7, 2008 Legal Submissions Printer friendly version Letter to Prince Khaled bin Faisal on the Detention of Tariq Yunis H.R.H. Prince Khaled bin Faisal bin Abd al-‘Aziz Al Sa’ud Governor Mekka Region Your Royal Highness, We write to you to request that you order the immediate release of Tariq Yunis Akram Mashharawi, currently imprisoned in Buraiman prison, Jeddah. June 9, 2008 Letter Also available in
Printer friendly version Saudi Arabia: Release Leading Human Rights Activist Secret Police Arrest Professor at University The Saudi Interior Ministry should immediately and unconditionally release Matrook al-Faleh, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading human rights activists, Human Rights Watch said today. May 21, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Saudi Arabia: Nour Miyati Denied Justice for Torture Judge Ignores Evidence in Case of Extreme Abuse against Indonesian Domestic Worker An appeals court should overturn a Riyadh court’s decision to drop charges against the Saudi employer who abused Nour Miyati, an Indonesian domestic worker, so severely she required several surgeries, including amputation of her toes and fingers, Human Rights Watch said today. The judge awarded Nour Miyati 2,500 riyals as compensation, or approximately US$670, a small fraction of what such injuries would normally garner in Saudi Arabia May 21, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Saudi Arabia: Investigate Police for Burning Yemenis Interior Ministry Protects Officers Implicated in Inhumane Act The Saudi government should investigate Khamis Mushayit police officers who allegedly set fire to the hiding place of Yemeni migrants, 18 of whom suffered serious burn injuries, Human Rights Watch said today. Victim accounts of the incident contradict Ministry of Interior and Civil Defense denials that the fire was accidentally set by the victims and not ignited by the police. May 14, 2008 Press Release Also available in
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