The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (''ACPRA'') ( ar, جمعية الحقوق المدنية والسياسية في السعودية) is a Saudi Arabian

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

created in 2009. On 9 March 2013, the Saudi court sentenced two of its prominent leaders to at least 10 years in prison for "offences that included sedition and giving inaccurate information to foreign media", while dissolving the group. The association is also known in Arabic by its acronym HASEM.

Creation

ACPRA was created in 2009 by 11 human rights activists and academics in response to what was seen as a worsening

situation in Saudi Arabia. The 11 founders are Professor Abdulkareem Yousef al-Khathar, Dr. Abdulrahman Hamid al-Hamid, Professor Abdullah H. al-Hamid, who is a former professor of

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

and founding member of the

Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights The Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights (CDLR; Arabic: لجنة الدفاع عن الحقوق الشرعية) was a Saudi dissident group created in 1993 which opposed the Saudi government as un-Islamic. The CDLR was the first oppositi ...

, Fahad Abdulaziz Ali al-Orani, Fowzan Mohsen al-Harbi, Easa Hamid al-Hamid, Mhana Mohammed al-Faleh, Dr.

Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani Mohammad Fahad Muflih al-Qahtani (, born 1965) is a human rights activist, economics professor and political prisoner currently jailed at Al-Ha’ir Prison in Riyadh co-founding and later leading the Saudi Arabia human rights organisation Sau ...

, Mohammad Hamad al-Mohaisen, Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi and Saud Ahmed al-Doughaither.

Aims

It aims to promote human rights awareness, focussing on the 1948

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

and related international human rights instruments, it calls for an elected parliament and the creation of legal institutions to support transparency and accountability. The ACPRA also calls for laws to protect minority rights and intends to document human rights violations.

Structure and leadership

, the ACPRA was led by

Statements and reports

In January 2011, ACPRA and

Human Rights First Society The Human Rights First Society (''HRFS'', ar, جمعية حقوق الإنسان أولا) is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation which seeks to promote human rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the few independent gro ...

complained to King Abdullah about the

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

of septuagenarian Judge

Suliman al-Reshoudi Judge Suliman Ibrahim al-Reshoudi ( ar, سليمان الرشودي; also spelled ''Suleiman al-Rushoodi'', ''Suliaman al-Rashudi'', born ) is a Saudi Arabian human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist. He was imprisoned in the 1990s, and ...

, whose feet were chained to his bed each night and who was forced to sit up during the day. In late March 2011, ACPRA's leader, Mohammad Fahad Al-Qahtani, stated that he saw police detain about 50 out of 100 protestors at the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

in Riyadh.

Government responses

ACPRA co-founder

Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi (or ''Muhammad'', ''Salih'', ''al-Bajadi'', ''albjadi'') is a co-founder of the Saudi Arabian human rights organisation Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) who has campaigned for prisoners' rights since 2 ...

(also ''al-Bjady'') was arrested on 21 March 2011, during the

2011 Saudi Arabian protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

, in

Buraidah Buraidah ( ar, بريدة ') is the capital and largest city of Al-Qassim Region in north-central Saudi Arabia in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. Buraydah lies equidistant from the Red Sea to the west and Persian Gulf to the east. Its known fo ...

Mabahith The Saudi Mabahith ( ar, المباحث العامة, , General Investigation Directorate), also spelled ''Mabaheth'', is the secret police agency of the Presidency of State Security in Saudi Arabia, and deals with domestic security and counter- ...

, the internal security agency. ACPRA stated that the arrest was

arbitrary Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". It is also used to refer to a choice made without any specific criterion or restraint. Arbitrary decisions are not necess ...

, in violation of the

Basic Law of Saudi Arabia The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia (alternative name: Basic System of Governance; ar, النظام الأساسي للحكم, ') is a constitution-like charter divided into nine chapters, consisting of 83 articles. The Basic Law (in Article One) st ...

and the ''Law of Criminal Procedures''. Al-Bejadi appeared in the

Specialized Criminal Court The Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) ( ar, المحكمة الجزائية المتخصصة) is a non- Sharia court created in Saudi Arabia in 2008 that tries suspected terrorists and human rights activists. On 26 June 2011, the court started tr ...

in August 2011 on charges of "insurrection against the ruler, instigating demonstrations, and speaking with foreign

edia ''Edia'' is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems whe ...

channels." Judge al-'Abd al-Latif prevented al-Bejadi's defence lawyers from attending the August trial session. On 18 June 2012, ACPRA co-founder and leader

was charged in a Saudi court for his human rights activities. On 29 June, the

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metrop ...

spoke on al-Qahtani's behalf at the 20th session of the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

. Another ACPRA co-founder, Abdullah al-Hamid, was charged with similar offences on 11 June 2012.

References

External links

ACPRA official web site
(mostly in Arabic; blocked in KSA - now defunct)
Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)
(now defunct) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association Human rights organisations based in Saudi Arabia 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests 2009 establishments in Saudi Arabia 2013 disestablishments in Saudi Arabia Organizations established in 2009 Organizations disestablished in 2013 Organizations of the Arab Spring Saudi Arabian democracy movements