"Prominent Saudi Arabian writer Dr. Zuhair Kutbi has been detained without charge since 15 July, 2015. He was beaten during arrest and is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. He is in need of medical attention. He is a prisoner of conscience.
Dr. Zuhair Kutbi, a prominent Saudi Arabian writer, commentator and critic, was taken from his home in the city of Mecca on 15 July by members of the security forces...and then beat him with their rifle butts, forced him into a car and drove him away."
"He was finally moved to the Mecca General Prison. He has not yet been charged. He is in need of medical attention as he is recovering from an operation for cancer, and has diabetes and high blood pressure.
It is believed that he was arrested because of comments he made on 25 June on the TV show Fi al-Samim (To the Point), on the Rotana Khalijia satellite channel, in which he criticized political repression in Saudi Arabia and argued for reforms such as transforming the country’s political system into a constitutional monarchy."
Amnesty USA
Please send a courteous email today to the Government of Saudi Arabia.
Ask the government of Saudi Arabia to release Dr. Zuhair Kutbi because he is a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression.
Urge them to ensure that he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment, given immediate access to medical help, and that he be allowed to see his family.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 9 OCTOBER 2015 TO:
King and Prime Minister
Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior)
011 966 11 403 3125 (please keep trying)
Twitter: @KingSalman
Salutation: Your Majesty
--
Minister of Interior
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Minister of Interior
Ministry of the Interior, P.O. Box 2933, Airport Road, Riyadh 11134 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 11 403 3125 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Excellency
--
President, Human Rights Commission
Bandar Mohammed ‘Abdullah al-Aiban
Human Rights Commission
PO Box 58889, Riyadh 11515
King Fahd Road
Building No. 3, Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 11 418 5101
Email: info@hrc.gov.sa
--
Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 944 5983 I Phone: 1 202 342 3800 I
Email: info@saudiembassy.net
A question sometimes asked: But will writing AI letters actually make any difference:
Yes! There are many cases where prisoners were released, or at least treated better.
One individual letter to one government usually doesn't help, but thousands of letters from various countries of the world to a government committing abuse, slaughter, or denying a person human rights, does
make a difference.
AI doesn't usually claim that a prisoner's release is because of AI letters. That can't be proven, and besides, would sound prideful.
However, governments are concerned with publicity. When they start getting lots of negative letters, even if they are very bad rulers, they usually will try and change a few things to look better, maybe even release one of thousands of prisoners. Just a blip to them.
And, amazingly, sometimes, human rights letters actually influence a leader in a bad government. The leader sees what his government is doing from a different perspective, realizes it is wrong.
Or the leader--for various reasons--has a huge change of heart and conscience, and the AI letter was one factor.
Remember the quote: "And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
― Howard Zinn
Thank you.
In the Light,
Daniel Wilcox
2 comments:
Do you think that, if we sent our letters to the King, it's going to help?
One individual letter to one government usually doesn't help, but thousands of letters from various countries of the world to a government committing abuse, slaughter, or denying a person human rights, does
make a difference.
AI doesn't usually claim that a prisoner's release is because of AI letters. That can't be proven, and besides, would sound prideful.
However, governments are concerned with publicity. When they start getting lots of negative letters, even if they are very bad, they usually will try and change a few things to look better, maybe even release one of thousands of prisoners. Just a blip to them.
And, amazingly, sometimes, human rights letters actually influence a leader in a bad government. The leader sees what his government is doing from a different perspective, realizes it is wrong.
Or the leader--for various reasons--has a huge change of heart and conscience, and the AI letter was one factor.
Remember the quote: "And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
― Howard Zinn
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