After Unfair Trials, Saudi Arabia Court Sentences Six to Lose Hands, Feet
\nDecember 16, 2011 – HRW – Christoph Wilcke<\/p>\n
Cutting off someone\u2019s hands and feet is torture, plain and simple. Judicially sanctioned torture is abhorrent, and this verdict, if confirmed, would bespeak a state policy of torture. <\/em><\/p>\n (Beirut) \u2013 The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia should void a sentence to amputate the hands and feet of six stateless people convicted of armed robbery, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the Saudi Human Rights Commission. The sentence constitutes internationally prohibited torture.<\/p>\n Human Rights Watch urged the Saudi Human Rights Commission to press for a retrial and a voiding of the sentence.<\/p>\n \u201cCutting off someone\u2019s hands and feet is torture, plain and simple,\u201d said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. \u201cJudicially sanctioned torture is abhorrent, and this verdict, if confirmed, would bespeak a state policy of torture.\u201d The family of \u2018Amir \u2018Iyada, one of those convicted, learned in early December, 2011, that the Court of Cassation had confirmed the verdict of amputation issued by Riyadh\u2019s General Court in January. The Supreme Court, which has not yet reviewed the case, provides the final judicial review. Under Saudi law, the king may not grant a pardon to cases of hiraba, or armed robbery, considered a crime against God under Saudi interpretation of Sharia law.<\/p>\n Judge Abd al-\u2018Aziz Al al-Shaikh of Riyadh\u2019s General Court tried \u2018Iyada and his co-defendants in only two court sessions, each lasting less than one hour, and prohibited them from appointing lawyers to assist them in their defense, \u2018Iyada told Human Rights Watch. \u2018Iyada\u2019s family-appointed lawyer prepared his written appeal, but was not allowed to meet with his client, attend court sessions, or see documents except for the public verdict. …more<\/a><\/p>\n