Page 5 of 8: Abuses of Freedom of Religion

Abuses of Freedom of Religion

During the period covered by this report, the Government continued to commit abuses of religious freedom.  Information about government practices is incomplete because judicial proceedings are closed to the public and the Government restricts freedom of speech and association.  In addition, the media exercises self-censorship regarding sensitive issues such as religious freedom, there are no independent nongovernmental organizations that monitor religious freedom, and the Government does not issue visas to foreign human rights organizations to conduct independent investigations.  Thus, reports of abuses often are difficult or impossible to corroborate.

The Government continued to commit abuses against members of the Shi'a minority.  Since beginning the investigation of the 1996 bombing of the U.S. military installation at Al-Khobar, in which a number of eastern province Shi'a were arrested, authorities have detained, interrogated, and confiscated the passports of a number of Shi'a Muslims.  The Government reportedly continued to detain an unknown number of Shi'a who were arrested in the aftermath of the Al-Khobar bombing.  Government security forces reportedly arrest Shi'a based on the smallest suspicion, hold them in custody for lengthy periods, and then release them without explanation.

According to various reports, a number of Shi'a sheikhs (religious leaders) were arrested and detained during the period covered by this report.  Amnesty International (AI) reported that Sheikh Ali bin Ali al-Ghanim was arrested in August 2000 at the border with Jordan and held by the Mabahith, the national investigative bureau that is part of the Ministry of Interior.  In March 2001, Mabahith officers reportedly arrested and detained Sheikh Mohammed Al Amri in Medina.

Early in 2000, a Shi'a sheikh was taken into custody and three other sheikhs were arrested for unknown reasons near the border with Jordan.  Human Rights Watch reported that at least seven additional Shi'a religious leaders reportedly remained in detention at the end of the period covered by this report for violating restrictions on Shi'a religious practices.  According to AI, Hashim Al-Sayyid Al-Sada, a Shi'a cleric suspected of political or religious dissent, was arrested in his home in April 2000 and reportedly remained held incommunicado at the end of the period covered by this report.

The Government continued to detain non-Muslims engaged in worship services, although at times it was unclear whether the services constituted public or private worship.  For example, on November 30, 2000, police broke up a gathering of 60 Christians worshiping in a rented building and detained 5 of the worshipers for approximately 1 hour for questioning.  In December 2000, authorities broke up a private Christian worship service of 12 Filipino citizens, arrested 6 of the Filipinos, and detained 3 of those arrested for nearly 2 months.  On April 20, a Filipino Christian man reportedly was stopped at a routine police checkpoint while driving a woman from a Christian service.  After discovering religious materials in the car, the police detained the man for 2 days.

In August 2000, authorities released a Christian Indian national who had been arrested in June 2000 for possession of a videotape of a religious event.  According to the Indian Embassy, the man spent approximately 2 months in jail and was released pending deportation on charges of violating the labor law.  There were reports during the period covered by this report that authorities interrogated members of the tiny Baha'i community regarding the size and status of their community, although there were no reports of any additional actions taken against them.

In April 2000, in the city of Najran, in the southwest region bordering Yemen, rioting by members of the Makarama Ismaili Shi'a eventually led to an attack by an armed group of Shi'a on a hotel that contained an office of the regional governor.  Security forces responded, leading to extended gun battles between the two sides.  Some press reports indicated that the rioting followed the arrest of a Makarama Ismaili Shi'a imam and some of his followers on charges of "sorcery."  Various other reports attributed the unrest to the closure of two Ismaili Shi'a mosques and the provincial governor's refusal to permit Ismailis to hold public observances of the Shi'a holiday of Ashura.  Still other reports attributed the unrest to a local crackdown on smuggling and resultant tribal discontent.  Officials at the highest level of the Government stated that the unrest in Najran was not the result of Shi'a-Sunni tension or religious discrimination.  After the unrest ended the Government stated that 5 members of the security forces were killed, and Ismaili leaders claimed that as many as 40 Ismaili tribesmen were killed.  There was no independent confirmation of these claims.  In October 2000, AI reported that two Ismaili Shi'a teachers, who were arrested in April 2000 following the unrest, were convicted on charges of sorcery and sentenced to 1,500 lashes; however, this report could not be confirmed.

Magic is widely believed in and sometimes practiced, often in the form of fortune-telling and swindles; however, under Shari'a, the practice of magic is regarded as the worst form of polytheism, an offense for which no repentance is accepted and which is punishable by death.  There are an unknown number of detainees held in prison on the charge of "sorcery," including the practice of "black magic" or "witchcraft."  In a few cases, self-proclaimed "miracle workers" have been executed for sorcery involving physical harm or apostasy.

Mutawwa'in practices and incidents of abuse varied widely in different regions of the country.  While reports of incidents were most numerous in the central Nejd region, which includes the capital Riyadh, reports of incidents in the eastern province increased during the period covered by this report.  In certain areas, both the Mutawwa'in and religious vigilantes acting on their own harassed, assaulted, battered, arrested, and detained citizens and foreigners.  The Government requires the Mutawwa'in to follow established procedures and to offer instruction in a polite manner; however, Mutawwa'in do not always comply with the requirements.  The Government has not criticized abuses by the Mutawwa'in directly, but criticism of the group has appeared in the largely government-controlled English-language press.  The Government has sought to curtail these abuses; however, the abuses continue.

Mutawwa'in enforcement of strict standards of social behavior included closing commercial establishments during five daily prayer observances, insisting upon compliance with strict norms of public dress and dispersing gatherings in public places.  Mutawwa'in frequently reproached citizen and foreign women for failure to observe strict dress codes, and detained men and women found together who were not married or closely related.

The Mutawwa'in have the authority to detain persons for no more than 24 hours for violation of strict standards of proper dress and behavior; however, they sometimes exceeded this limit before delivering detainees to the police.  Procedures require a police officer to accompany the Mutawwa'in at the time of arrest.  Mutawwa'in generally complied with this requirement.  According to reports, the Mutawwa'in also are no longer permitted to detain citizens for more than a few hours, may not conduct investigations, and may no longer allow unpaid volunteers to accompany official patrols.