...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
has detained thousands of people for years without trial, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday, slamming the country’s powerful crown prince for the "arbitrary detentions".
Official data from the interior ministry, analysed by HRW, showed that authorities had detained 2,305 people for more than six months without referring them to court.
More than 1,870 had been held for more than a year and 251 for more than three years with their cases still "under investigation", HRW said, citing the ministry database.
One person has been held for over a decade in what HRW said was a case of "documented arbitrary detention".
The ultra-conservative kingdom, an absolute monarchy, has introduced a string of reform in past months, spearheaded by the country’s unchallenged Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
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Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016...., dubbed "MBS", who was appointed heir to the throne in June 2017.
Yet arbitrary detention appears to have "increased dramatically in recent years", according to HRW. The group urged authorities to "stop holding people arbitrarily".
"If Saudi authorities can hold a detainee for months on end with no charges, it’s clear that the Saudi criminal justice system remains broken and unjust, and it only seems to be getting worse," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for the New York-based rights group.