Saudi Arabia must try or free terrorism suspects, Human Rights Watch says

BERLIN, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia must release or try several thousand terrorist suspects in prison under the country's counter-terrorism program since 2005, Human Rights Watch said.

Saudi Arabia "should ensure the right to judicial review for anyone detained, and the right to a fair trial for anyone charged with a crime," it says in the 27-page Human Rights Watch report.

The country's domestic intelligence agency, the Mabahith, runs its own prisons and does not allow for fair judicial oversight, according to the New-York based human rights organization.

"The Mabahith acts as if it is above the law," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "King Abdallah's judicial reforms should be measured against the compliance of the security apparatus with basic tenets of the rule of law."

Around 9,000 terror suspects have been detained in Saudi Arabia since 2003 without a trial. The suspects are accused of being involved in terrorist attacks in the country or returned from the U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"Saudi Arabia's response to terrorism for years has been to lock up thousands of suspects and throw away the key," Whitson said. "The authorities made believe that religious counseling could replace trials, and now they are pretending that convictions after secret trials can legitimize continued detention," she added.

There is a legal limit of six months for a suspect to be held in detention before a trial, which Saudi families have challenged before the Board of Grievances, the Saudi Administrative Court, Human Rights Watch said.

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry is responsible for the Mabahith and has ignored the legal limits for detention. Instead of following legal procedures, the Interior Ministry offers religious counseling to detainees, Human Rights Watch reports.

In October 2008 Saudi authorities referred 991 suspects to a Special Criminal Court. In July 2009, 329 suspects were charged with terrorism-related actions in secret trials without legal representation.

The United States and the United Kingdom cooperate with Saudi government officials, but have not yet spoken out on the country's unfair handling of terrorism suspects, Human Rights Watch pointed out.

"Justice has to be fair and must be seen to be fair," said Whitson. "The closed, summary Saudi trials are neither -- they are sham justice."