(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is deeply concerned about the charges brought against writer Ali Al-Domaini and academic Matrouq al-Faleh, whose trial reportedly started on 9 August 2004 at an Islamic court in Riyadh. Al-Domaini and al-Faleh have been detained since 15 March for criticising the authorities. International PEN considers both men to […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is deeply concerned about the charges brought against writer Ali Al-Domaini and academic Matrouq al-Faleh, whose trial reportedly started on 9 August 2004 at an Islamic court in Riyadh. Al-Domaini and al-Faleh have been detained since 15 March for criticising the authorities. International PEN considers both men to be held solely for the peaceful expression of their opinions.
According to PEN’s information, Al-Domaini and al-Faleh are among three reformist intellectuals who have been charged with threatening national unity for their moderate reform activities. All three are said to be specifically accused of promoting a constitutional monarchy and using Western terminology in demanding political reforms.
Al-Domaini and al-Faleh are among twelve leading Saudi intellectuals to have been detained on or around 15 March for criticising the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) and for planning to set up their own human rights organisation. The NCHR is the kingdom’s first human rights watchdog, and was approved in early March by the Saudi government as part of limited steps towards political reform. However, many liberal and opposition figures want to see speedier and more radical change than is being offered by the government.
Most of the detainees have reportedly since been released after agreeing to renounce their political activism, but Al-Domaini and al-Faleh are thought to have been charged after refusing to sign the document. The next hearing of their trial is scheduled for 24 August.
Al-Domaini is a well-known writer, and his publications include three collections of poetry and one novel in Arabic. Al-Faleh is a former political science teacher at Riyadh’s King Saud University. He was reportedly banned from teaching in January 2003 because of an article he published in the London-based Arabic-language newspaper “Al-Qudis”, which discussed the 11 September 2001 attacks and their impact on Saudi Arabia. He has published several academic books and is a well known activist.
