[prisoner-rights] Saudi Arabia: Mentally ill prisoner put in solitary

Authorities Fail to Provide Sufficient Care, Supervision for Suicidal
Inmate

(New York, February 2, 2007) -- Saudi prison authorities should
immediately provide specialized medical care and supervision for Hadi
Al-Mutif, an Isma`ili man sentenced to death in 1996 in an unfair trial
for having allegedly insulted the Prophet Muhammad, Human Rights Watch
said today. Al-Mutif, who has been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition,
attempted suicide twice last month after he was put in solitary
confinement.

On January 13, the Najran General Prison authorities placed Al-Mutif in
solitary confinement, apparently as a punishment for contacting the US
government-supported satellite television station al-Hurra and sending
them an amateur video of himself, which aired on January 22.

After five days in solitary confinement, Al-Mutif on January 18 attempted
suicide first by ingesting metal objects. Three days after emergency
surgery to remove the metal objects, prison officials returned him to
solitary confinement. On January 25, he attempted suicide again and was
rushed to hospital. Prison officials again returned him to solitary
confinement two days later. Al-Mutif has reportedly received no
psychiatric care in hospital or prison, even though a government hospital
diagnosed him with a psychiatric condition in 1999.

"Instead of providing adequate medical care for a prisoner diagnosed with
a psychiatric condition, the Saudi authorities threw Hadi Al-Mutif into
solitary confinement," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human
Rights Watch said. "The government should immediately free this man and
allow him to seek the medical care he needs."

Since his imprisonment in 1993, Al-Mutif’s mental health has
significantly declined. In 1999, a special review panel of the psychiatric
hospital in al-Ta’if, where he stayed for six months, found Al-Mutif
“not responsible for his actions” and diagnosed him with
depression since childhood. Since then, Al-Mutif has attempted suicide on
several occasions, but has never received psychiatric care. Prison
officials have also refused to allow his parents and siblings to see him
in hospital or in prison over the past years.

In December, Al-Mutif told Human Rights Watch by telephone from prison
that he saw little hope of gaining release. In October, Human Rights Watch
wrote a letter to King Abdullah documenting Al-Mutif’s unfair trial
and asked the king to pardon him. In early November, it appeared that the
king had pardoned Al-Mutif. Prison officials processed him for release,
but then returned him to his cell without explanation and released another
prisoner in a similar case instead. In late November, King Abdullah
notified Human Rights Watch that the Royal Court was following the case.

In 1996, Judge Muhammad al-`Askari of the Najran Court sentenced Al-Mutif
to death for allegedly having uttered in December 1993 a phrase that the
court deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. This judge, as well as
others in the appeals process in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, exhibited a
discriminatory bias against Al-Mutif's minority Isma`ili Muslim faith, a
brand of Shi`ism, as Human Rights Watch documented in its letter to the
king. Al-Mutif's trial was patently unfair and the judges failed to abide
by the most basic standards of due process required under international
law.

For example, Al-Mutif never received a written sentence explaining the
reasons for his death sentence. After the Royal Court told Human Rights
Watch in late November that a written verdict existed, his brother `Ali in
early December petitioned the Royal Court for a copy. However, while
officials told him that Al-Mutif had a file at the Royal Court (#109036,
dated November 12, 2006 (20/10/1427)), they never provided a verdict.

"The Saudi government made a travesty of justice in Al-Mutif's trial,"
Whitson said. "Rather than compounding this further, the government should
release him at once."

International human rights law sets forth principles to ensure that
mentally ill prisoners obtain adequate psychiatric treatment and are
allowed communication with the outside world. The principles also
establish limits on disciplinary actions such as solitary confinement.
Placing Al-Mutif incommunicado in solitary confinement and failing to
provide specialized psychiatric care violates these principles.

Human Rights Watch reiterated its call for King Abdullah to pardon and
release Al-Mutif. The Saudi government should immediately release him from
solitary confinement and provide expert medical care during and after
detention. Human Rights Watch also renewed its call on King Abdullah to
pardon Al-Mutif because he did not receive a fair trial.

Annex 

International human rights standards set forth rules and principles for
the medical treatment of prisoners, their communication with the outside
world, and limits on disciplinary action such as solitary confinement.

The main instruments are: 

- The Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form 
of Detention or Imprisonment
http://www.hrea.org/erc/library/display.php?doc_id=879&category_id=37&category_type=3&group=human%20rights%20treaties%20and%20other%20instruments;

- United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
http://www.hrea.org/erc/library/display.php?doc_id=591&category_id=37&category_type=3&group=human%20rights%20treaties%20and%20other%20instruments;

- Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the 
Death Penalty
http://www.hrea.org/erc/library/display.php?doc_id=1049&category_id=37&category_type=3&group=human%20rights%20treaties%20and%20other%20instruments.


1. Medical treatment 

Principle 24 of the Body of Principles states that "A proper medical
examination shall be offered to a detained or imprisoned person as
promptly as possible after his admission to the place of detention or
imprisonment, and thereafter medical care and treatment shall be provided
whenever necessary. This care and treatment shall be provided free of
charge."

The World Health Organization has reported that the confinement of
mentally ill prisoners in segregation heightens the risk of their suicide:
"the majority of suicides in correctional settings occur when a prisoner
is isolated from staff and fellow prisoners. Therefore, placement in
segregation or isolation cells … can increase the risk of suicide."
In cases where “acting-out, potentially self-injurious
inmates” stage suicide attempts, it recommends "programmes that
foster close supervision, social support, and access to psychosocial
resources." [Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Prison Officers. Mental
and Behavioral Disorders, Department of Mental Health, World Health
Organization (Geneva, 2000) p.10 & 11.]

Article 22 of the Standard Minimum Rules states that “(1) At every
institution there shall be available the services of at least one
qualified medical officer who should have some knowledge of psychiatry.
The medical services [...] shall include a psychiatric service for the
diagnosis and, in proper cases, the treatment of states of mental
abnormality. (2) Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be
transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals.

Article 82 of the same Rules specifies that prisoners under sentence "who
suffer from other mental diseases or abnormalities shall be observed and
treated in specialized institutions under medical management."


2. Communication with the outside world 

Principle 19 of the Body of Principles gives a prisoner “the right
to be visited by and to correspond with, in particular, members of his
family and shall be given adequate opportunity to communicate with the
outside world, subject to reasonable conditions and restrictions as
specified by law or lawful regulations.”

A publication by the Saudi Prison Directorate describes "a prisoner's
communication with the outside world - a very important program of care."

The safeguards for those on death row state that "anyone sentenced to
death shall have the right to seek pardon, may be granted in all cases of
capital punishment." Furthermore, "capital punishment shall not be carried
out pending any [...] proceeding relating to pardon..."


3. Limits on disciplinary measures 

Principle 16 of the Body of Principles states that "communication of the
detained or imprisoned person with the outside world, and in particular
his family or counsel, shall not be denied for more than a matter of
days."

Principle 30 of the Body of Principles states that "1. The types of
conduct of the [...] imprisoned person that constitute disciplinary
offences during [...] imprisonment the description and duration of
disciplinary punishment that may be inflicted [...] shall be specified by
law or lawful regulations and duly published. 2. A[n] imprisoned person
shall have the right to be heard before disciplinary action is taken. He
shall have the right to bring such action to higher authorities for
review."

Article 20 of the Saudi Prison and Detention Law of 1978 allows prison
authorities to place a prisoner in solitary confinement for 15 days if he
or she violates "the law of the prison" (the local governor can double
this period in case of repeat offenses) and points to Executive
Regulations of the 1978 law to specify "jurisdictional rules on imposing
the punishments." The official law compendium, however, omits these
Executive Regulations.

Article 32 of the Minimum Standard Rules states that "(1) Punishment by
close confinement or reduction of diet shall never be inflicted unless the
medical officer has examined the prisoner and certified in writing that he
is fit to sustain it. (2) The same shall apply to any other punishment
that may be prejudicial to the physical or mental health of a prisoner.
[...] (3) The medical officer shall visit daily prisoners undergoing such
punishments and shall advise the director if he considers the termination
or alteration of the punishment necessary on grounds of physical or mental
health."


4. Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty 

The Safeguards state that "capital punishment may be imposed only when the
guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence
leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts." Furthermore,
"capital punishment may only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement
rendered by a competent court after legal process which gives all possible
safeguards to ensure a fair trial, [...] including the right of anyone
suspected of or charged with a crime for which capital punishment may be
imposed to adequate legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings."

Human Rights Watch Press release