[child-rights] Saudi Arabia: 14-year-old boy faces execution

Saudi Arabia: 14-Year-Old Boy Faces Execution

(Cairo, October 27, 2005) A 14-year-old Egyptian boy faces execution in
Saudi Arabia after a flawed trial in which he was convicted for the murder
of another child, Human Rights Watch said today. Saudi King Abdullah
should uphold the country's obligations to protect children and due
process by commuting the death sentence.

Neither the Saudi nor Egyptian government has responded to letters on the
case that Human Rights Watch sent several weeks ago and made public today
before the Eid holiday.

Following a seriously flawed trial, Ahmad al-D. was sentenced to death in
July for the murder of three-year old Wala' `Adil `Abd al- Badi` in Dammam
in April 2004. The families of both children are Egyptian nationals living
in Saudi Arabia. Wala's parents have refused to accept blood money (diya)
from Ahmad's family, and Ahmad remains on death row in a juvenile
detention facility in Dammam.

"Executing one child for the killing of another would only compound the
tragedy," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights
Watch. "King Abdullah should uphold Saudi Arabia's international legal
obligations by commuting this death sentence."

Saudi Arabia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which
prohibits capital punishment for offenses committed by individuals under
18 at the time of the crime and protects the rights of all children
accused or convicted of crimes. Saudi Arabia stated in its 2004 report to
the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child that the "Islamic
Shariah in force in the Kingdom never imposes capital punishment on
persons who have not attained their majority" and that "a juvenile is
defined under the Detention Regulation and the Juvenile Homes' Regulation
of A.H. 1395 (1975) as every human being below the age of 18".

At every stage of the investigation, detention, trial and sentencing, the
Saudi authorities violated Ahmad's due process rights and well as
international legal protections for children. He had no legal assistance
or representation during interrogation, detention and trial. Press and
police accounts also throw into question his psychological stability
during this period and his ability to participate in his own defense. He
told the Saudi online newspaper al-Yaum al-Elektroni that he confessed
only after police questioned him for the third time because "my strength
dwindled and I lacked the capacity to refuse." He said that while in
pre-trial solitary confinement for three months he "cried from fear and
loneliness."

Although he was only 13 at the time of the murder, the court tried and
sentenced Ahmad as an adult, based on its assessment of the coarseness of
his voice and the appearance of pubic hair. Children can benefit from
adult provisions, such as the right to work where it is not hazardous or
does not interfere with their right to education, but they may not be used
to deny individuals under 18 rights guaranteed to them in the Convention
on the Rights of the Child. The court also reportedly refused his family's
request for a psychological exam that could have helped to establish
diminished legal culpability, despite press accounts and statements by
Saudi officials that point to a deeply troubled child in need of care and
rehabilitation rather than an adult who is fully responsible for his
actions.

"Sentencing Ahmad as an adult is an injustice, however serious the crime,
because he lacks the maturity and judgment of an adult." Whitson said.
"King Abdullah should reverse that judgment".

On September 22, Human Rights Watch wrote to King Abdullah urging him to
commute Ahmad's sentence to a punishment consistent with his age and
culpability and to state publicly that Saudi Arabia does not impose the
death penalty for offenses committed by persons under 18 at the time of
the crime.

"King Abdullah needs to do what Saudi courts did not: provide a measure of
justice for both of these children," Whitson said. "Ahmad's treatment in
detention, trial and sentencing are contrary to international law, and
this death sentence must not stand."

The Egyptian consulate reportedly has made little effort to protect
Ahmad's due process rights or to intercede with Wala's family in Saudi
Arabia, although both families are Egyptian. In a letter to the Egyptian
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Human Rights Watch on September 22 urged the
foreign minister to make a formal request that King Abdullah commute the
death sentence. The letter also urged Egyptian consular officials to visit
Ahmad regularly during his detention to monitor his well-being and ensure
that his rights are protected. Consular officials should also assist
settlement talks between the families and, should facilitate a diya or
other settlement.

Background: 

At least four other persons are known to be facing death for crimes
committed when they were children: a Mrs. S. from Khamis Mushayyit, Sadiq
A. in Qatif, Mr. A. in Jazan, and an unnamed person in Jeddah reportedly
convicted of murdering his rapists. The last confirmed execution of a
child in Saudi Arabia occurred in 1992.

Saudi Arabia ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child in
1996. The treaty prohibits capital punishment and sentences of life
imprisonment without possibility of release for persons under the age of
18 at the time of the crime. It also guarantees children accused of a
crime the right to legal or other assistance in the preparation and
presentation of their defense, and the right not to be compelled to give
testimony or to confess guilt. In addition, U.N. guidelines on juvenile
justice (known as the "Beijing Rules") prohibit the use of solitary
confinement, and call on states to make determinations of adult competence
based on "emotional, mental and intellectual maturity," not the physical
maturity, of the child.

The Saudi Law on Criminal Procedure in article 4 guarantees every
defendant the right to a lawyer.

Human Rights Watch Press release



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