Mabahith

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The Mabahith (Arabic: المباحث العامة‎‎, al-Mabāḥiṯ al-ʿĀmmah, General Investigation Directorate), also spelled Mabaheth, is the "secret police" agency of the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia, and deals with domestic security and counter-intelligence.

Role[edit]

According to Human Rights Watch, the Mabahith "monitors suspected political opponents and others, targets individuals for arrest, and interrogates detainees. Mabahith agents operate with impunity and have been responsible for a wide range of human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, and torture"[1] including waterboarding, denailing, flagellation and beatings, amongst other forms of severe abuse.

Members of the Mabahith were allegedly responsible for the torture of Western detainees arrested during a car bombing campaign which started in 2000. Two members in particular, Khalid al-Saleh and Ibrahim al-Dali, were named by William Sampson in his court action against the Saudi government.[citation needed] Sampson and others lost their case in the UK High Court when the Saudis used the State Immunity Act 1978 as their defence.

Prisons[edit]

Al-Ha'ir Prison[edit]

Al-Haa'ir Prison is a Mabahith-affiliated prison.[2]

`Ulaysha Prison[edit]

Mabahith runs the `Ulaysha Prison in Riyadh,[3] where it holds prisoners under arbitrary detention. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has objected to arbitrary detention at Mabahith's prison.[4][5] As of June 2011, arbitrarily detained prisoners apparently include five founding members of a would-be political party, the Umma Islamic Party,[3] and Khaled al-Johani, who publicly protested in Riyadh on the 11 March "Day of Rage" during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests.[6][7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Human Rights in Saudi Arabia: A Deafening Silence (Human Rights Watch Backgrounder, December 2001)
  2. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Dispensing a Peaceful Demonstration after Assaulting Prisoner's Wife and Four of Her Children due to A video Segment". ANHRI. 2012-08-28. Archived from the original on 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2012-08-31. 
  3. ^ a b Wilcke, Christopher (2011-02-19). "Secret Police Crackdown on Founders of First Political Party". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
  4. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Opinion on the arbitrary detention of Mr. Faiz bin Abdelmohsen Al Qaid". Alkarama for Human Rights. 2007-07-02. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
  5. ^ "Saudi Arabia: The Working Group of the United Nations describes the detention of Abdel Rahman Samara as arbitrary". Alkarama for Human Rights. 2009-04-21. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
  6. ^ Kennedy, Dana (2011-04-08). "Imprisoned Father of Autistic Boy Called "the Bravest Man in Saudi Arabia"". AOL News. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-06-06. 
  7. ^ "EU, US Leaders Should Publicly Condemn Human Rights Violations". Human Rights Watch. 2011-04-20. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 

External links[edit]

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