human rights

Two Egyptian Doctors

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January 4, 2009

King ‘Abdullah Bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court
Riyadh
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA                     fax: 011 966 1 403 1185

Your Majesty:

I am respectfully requesting your intervention in the case of two Egyptian doctors, Raouf Amin al-Arabi and Shawqi Abd Rabbuh, both convicted and sentenced under questionable circumstances and currently detained in Saudi Arabia.

History:
Dr. Raouf Amin al-Arabi was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 1,500 lashes. Dr. Shawqi Abd Rabbuh was sentenced to 20 years and 1,700 lashes.The doctors were alleged to have facilitated the addiction of an unnamed Saudi Arabian patient to morphine after prescribing the medicine for her pain relief following an accident. However, very little information has been made public about their case.

Concern:
1) Amnesty International reports that an unfair trial appears to be the basis for the both the convictions and sentences.

2) Flogging contravenes the following:
-Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”
-Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

I urge you, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to immediately commute the sentences of flogging against Raouf Amin al-Arabi and Shawqi Abd Rabbuh and ensure that their case is reviewed or retried in accordance with international fair trial standards and humane sentencing.

I respectfully request your influence in the Royal Office and Court to move Saudi Arabian laws and practices into accordance with international laws and standards prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment, and to consider abolishing judicial corporal punishments in this new year.

Please know that Americans are requesting our own government to align the United States with the same international laws and standards prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment. Together, the United States and Saudi Arabia united in favor of human rights could herald a new era of leadership that would earn the indelible respect and support of the world.

(Based on a template for one of 3 cases presented in January 2009 by Amnesty International Freedom Writers Network, a letter-writing campaign on behalf of people facing human rights abuses worldwide.)

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