In Saudi Arabia, at least 83 Saudi families, and countless families of migrant workers living abroad, continue to suffer as a result of the continued detention of the bodies of their children and relatives who have been executed by the Saudi government over the last several years. Eight of the bodies are those of minors, whose families were unable to bid them farewell and bury them, and were deprived of their funerals according to their own beliefs. The families remain ignorant of their burial places, as the government has refused to either return the bodies or disclose their locations.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) has documented 86 cases of disappearance of the bodies of individuals who were killed in various forms – despite the lack of transparency in the Saudi government’s handling, and despite the concerns of the families of the victims. ESOHR believes that these numbers may be even greater than those documented, especially with regard to the bodies of foreigners. In addition to the corpses of individuals who were killed by the Saudi government in executions or extra-judicially, ESOHR monitored that Saudi Arabia did not hand over the bodies of individuals of many different nationalities, including those of Nigerian, Pakistani, and Filipino nationality. According to our information, for example, a Filipino person died of complications from the Covid 19 virus, and they were buried without the consent of their families. This suggests that the numbers may be much higher.
ESOHR has documented that the Saudi government has retained custody of at least 83 bodies of Saudi persons, as well as those of innumerable foreigners. Among the detained bodies, eight belong to minors 7 are of minors that Saudi Arabia has executed, and one of a minor who was killed extrajudicially. These are the bodies: Ali al-Rabeh, who was executed in January 2016, Muhammad Saeed al-Skafi, Salman Amin Al Quraysh, Mojtaba Nader Al-Sweiket, Abdullah Salman Al Suraih, Abdulaziz Hussein Sahwi and Abdul Karim Muhammad Al-Hawaj, who were executed in April 2019, and Walid Al-Areedh, who was killed by security forces outside the jurisdiction In March 2017. ESOHR monitored human rights violations against minors and other victims before the execution of death sentences, including torture and denial of the right to a fair trial and others.
ESOHR affirms that Saudi Arabia’s detention of the bodies of the victims and its refusal to reveal their fate is an arbitrary practice that has been carried out only by the most oppressive and repressive countries, and it may be the only country that practices a policy of arbitrary detention of bodies in situations of peace and against its citizens.
ESOHR notes that the lack of certainty, about the fate of the bodies or the location of the burial, and the government’s refusal to hand them over and ensure that they receive burial ceremonies commensurate with religious orientations, is a further torture of families and it increase their suffering. In addition to the fact that the detention of the body is a violation of the victim’s right, it is a continuous violation and torture of the right of the families.
Families’ demands:
Since the Saudi government announced that it had carried out the mass killing in January 2016, the families of the victims have been demanding the bodies be received in order to honor them and bury them.
Most of the families of the citizens who were killed by the Saudi forces submitted letters to the official authorities, such as the Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Interior, and the Provincial Emirate, demanding delivery of the bodies for burial according to their religious beliefs and desires. Some families also published public statements in which they repeated the same demand. All of these requests were rejected or ignored, and some even received a warning against continuing the claim.
Two years after the April 2019 massacre and five years after the January 2016 massacre, a number of families are still expressing their grief over their continued ignorance of the fate of the bodies and repeatedly demanding their right to receive and bury them.
Saudi government response:
According to the family of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed with others in January 2016, the government responded that it would not surrender his body, arguing that he was buried in a “Muslim” cemetery. The Saudi government refused to disclose the location of his grave, despite the difference in the rituals and procedures between official state practices and those of the Shiite sect, to which most of the victims belong.
As for the two victims, Muhammad Tahir al-Nimr and Miqdad Muhammad al-Nimr, who were extra judicially killed by security forces, the intelligence service stated, in response to the request to recover the bodies that the Ministry of Interior – before transferring its powers to the Presidency of State Security – issued a decision preventing the delivery of the bodies of people on wanted lists.
The request of the family of Abd al-Rahim al-Faraj was rejected by the office of the governor of the Eastern Province, who said that the decision was issued from Riyadh not to hand over the body to the family.
In addition, in October 2018, the United Nations Special Rapporteurs asked Saudi Arabia in a letter on the subject of returning the bodies: “Please provide detailed information on the procedures followed before and after the execution, including the period of notification given to family members before the execution and for the body to be returned to him with him”.
Also in July 2017, the rapporteurs indicated, “The bodies of seven Saudis who were executed between 2016 and 2017, were not returned to their families, despite the requests submitted to the authorities. The reason for the refusal to return the bodies to their relatives is that it is alleged that the burial was done to conceal the traces of torture. These allegations relate to the remains of Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr, Mr. Ali Al-Rabah, Mr. Muhammad Faisal Muhammad Al-Shuyukh, Mr. Abdul Rahim Ali Al-Faraj, Mr. Miqdad Muhammad Hassan Al-Nimr, Mr. Muhammad Taher Muhammad Al-Nimr and Mr. Ali Mahmoud Ali Hussein Abdullah.
The Saudi government, in its response to the Rapporteurs’ letter, ignored the issue of returning the bodies.
The unknown fate:
The refusal of the Saudi government to respond to the families’ demands to hand over the bodies is accompanied by uncertainty about their fate, as the Saudi government does not acknowledge the location of the burial nor give details of the method of burial. This reinforces the fears of the families and increases their suffering, especially in light of the possibilities regarding the whereabouts of the body and the fate of the dead body.
- Families confirmed that they had fears that the government would steal the organs of the bodies it was holding. According to information received from one victim before his execution, he was forced to sign papers that he could not read fully, including language related to his body.
- Some families have fears that individuals may be mutilated or tortured before they are executed, prompting the government to seize the body and refuse to hand it over. These fears are reinforced by the receipt of the bodies of individuals who were killed under torture during arrest, and after receiving the body, signs of torture were revealed. In addition, the information that spoke about the mutilation, cutting and burning of the body of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, raises fears of a similar fate for the bodies.
- According to the response of the Saudi government to some families, they buried the bodies “in Muslim cemeteries.” This raised fears from families that burials could take place in mass graves.
Violations of international laws:
The Saudi government’s refusal to hand over the bodies and the continuing uncertainty about their fate violate a number of international laws. Although this practice is rarely practiced outside the scope of wars, the laws have shown the violation committed by Saudi Arabia.
On the World Day against the Death Penalty in 2019, the European Union and the Council of Europe jointly highlighted the impact of the death penalty on the children of people subjected to the death penalty. They noted that denying children and families a burial or cremation violates their human rights, especially their right to be free from cruel, degrading treatment. Children who lost their parents because of executions suffer deep and lasting grief and trauma:
The Human Rights Committee (HRC) stated in paragraph 11.10 of its decision (CCPR / C / 106 / D / 2120/2011) issued in November 2012, which relates to one of the cases it considered, and includes the failure of a government to inform in advance of the date of the execution, and to hand over the body to the family, in addition to the failure to disclose the location of the burial site, the following:
“The Committee understands the continued anguish and mental stress caused to the authors, as the mother and sister of the condemned prisoner, by the persisting uncertainty of the circumstances that led to his execution, as well as the location of his grave. The complete secrecy surrounding the date of the execution and the place of burial, as well as the refusal to hand over the body for burial in accordance with the religious beliefs and practices of the executed prisoner’s family have the effect of intimidating or punishing the family by intentionally leaving it in a state of uncertainty and mental distress. The Committee therefore concludes that these elements, cumulatively, and the State party’s subsequent persistent failure to notify the authors of the location of Mr. … grave, amount to inhuman treatment of the authors, in violation of article 7 of the Covenant.”
Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions stated, in paragraph 27 of the report (E / CN.4 / 2006/53 / Add.3) submitted to the Human Rights Committee in March 2006 that:
“For the prisoner and for his or her family, the other issue is that a lack of transparency in what is already a harrowing experience – waiting for one’s execution – can result in “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” […]”
In its 2008 report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Human Rights Committee affirmed in its recommendations that “families must be made sure in advance of the date of their execution of family members, and that the body be returned to the family for burial in private.”
Moreover, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief 1981 stated in Article 6 paragraph (c) that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief include the freedom to “To make, acquire and use to an adequate extent the necessary articles and materials related to the rites or customs of a religion or belief.”
Conclusion:
ESOHR asserts that the Saudi government’s refusal to reveal the fate and whereabouts of the bodies of the individuals who were killed, and its refusal to hand over the bodies to families to grant them their right to bury, is an act of revenge that cannot be tolerated.
ESOHR notes that the cruelty of this practice is exacerbated in the cases of killing minors whose families are deprived of their farewell, as the uncertainty about the fate of their bodies exacerbates the suffering.
ESOHR stresses that silence on this issue, despite its clear violation of international laws, and despite the clear official Saudi disregard for the question about it by UN Rapporteurs, reveals Saudi obstinance to continue the practice despite the fact that it is a continuous torture. Facebook Twitter Email