Arbitrary Justice in Saudi Arabia

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and Amnesty International are cosponsoring an event to shed light on the absence of Rule of Law in Saudi Arabia. The discussion will outline the specific deficiencies within the Saudi criminal justice system that lead to the commission of human rights violations, including judges' lack of independence, practices of arbitrary and incommunicado detention, and a catch-all anti-terrorism law.

Discussion will then turn to highlighting the cases of those activists, including members of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair, who have sacrificed their independence to raise awareness of human rights abuses and bring reforms to this system.

A question-and-answer session will follow.

Panelists will include:

Abdulaziz Alhussan, Visiting Scholar at Indiana University's Center for Constitutional Democracy and former attorney for several ACPRA members;

Hala Aldosari, Saudi activist and women's health researcher;

Sunjeev Bery, Director of MENA Advocacy at Amnesty International USA;

and R. James Suzano, Acting Director of Advocacy at ADHRB.

A light lunch will be served.