Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, April 2013

The Honorable Adel A Al-Jubeir

Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia

601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Dear Adel A Al-Jubeir

On behalf of Shia Rights Watch we are writing to highlight our concerns regarding the safety and security of the Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia since more and more discriminations and restrictions are enforced every day. Shia Muslims have a long history in Arabia yet Saudi government denies their rights as citizen. Increasing arrests and restrictions are violating Shia’s basic human rights and the government must stop them.

S.R.W was informed recently that a Shia Muslim woman accused of spreading Shi’ism via “what’s up” program was sentenced by the Qatif court. A Saudi Shia woman, Y.H. 30 years old, sent a “what’s up” message to another Saudi woman by error. The husband of the receiver saw the message and reported it to the local court. He believed the sender was pursuing her wife to convert to Shi’ism. Judge Dawood Muhammad AlDawood, sentenced the woman to eight lashes. Y.H denied the accusation and requested reconsideration. However the judge did not change his decision. Oddly, none of the lawyer and the person filing the lawsuit were present in the court sessions and the court does not reveal who actually filed the lawsuit.

Judge AlDawood is known for his discriminatory and hatred actions toward Shia Muslims. It is illegal to sentence someone without the presence of his/her self and lawyer in the court. SRW believes in a fair and just judicial system, a judge with a strong history of Anti-Shi’ism is not suitable for the presented case.

Saudi Arabian authorities have declared open dialogue between religions but in action, Shia Muslims are being oppressed even more than before.

SRW advises the Saudi government to respect its citizen rights and recognize Shia Muslims as lawful citizens in order to reach peace in the country.

Sincerely,

Mustafa Akhwand

Director of the Shia Rights Watch