Abdulkareem al-Hawaj
Abdulkareem al-Hawaj
was a child at the time of his alleged offenses and arrest. Born in November 1995, he was arrested in January 2014 while he was walking home from work and subsequently forcibly disappeared. The men who arrested him wore civilian clothing and were possibly linked to the General Directorate of Investigation, which supervises the domestic intelligence service—the mabahith. Officials disappeared him for five months, during which time he was placed in solitary confinement. Authorities also tortured him into confessing to crimes officials accused him of committing. Authorities did not allow him to contact a lawyer for two years. Even after Abdulkareem received a lawyer, officials harassed the lawyer, and the court did not respond to his lawyer’s requests for information. On 27 July 2016, Saudi Arabia’s anti-terror Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) issues its initial judgement against Abdulkareem. It sentenced him to death on accusations related to charges dating to when he was 16-years old.
Personal information
Name: Abdulkareem al-Hawaj
Name in Arabic: عبد الكريم الحواج
Date of Birth: Unknown
Gender: Male
Marital status: Single
Profession: Unknown
Place of residence: Unknown
Arrest and jail information
Date of arrest:1 January 2014
Manner of arrest: Unknown
Where held: Dammam Al-Mabaheth (General Investigations Directorate)
Trial information
Alleged crimes: Unknown
Victim's charges: Al-Hawaj was charged with some of the following accusations which are related to the exercise of freedom of expression while being a miner:
Participating in demonstrations.
Sharing Photos/Videos of protest in Qatif and Bahrain on social media.
Burning tires on the streets
Throwing two in cendiary bottles at the General Court of Qatif.
Showing sympathy with the protesters in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Court: Unknown
Verdict: Unknown
Date of verdict: Unknown
Updates on trial: Unknown
Previous arrests:
Human Rights Violations
Violations: Arbitrary arrest/ detention, Denied access to a lawyer , Denied contact with family, Enforced disappearance, Held in Solitary confinement, Torture and ill-treatment
Violation details: physically and psychologically tortured and abused by unidentified Saudi Soldiers whom were hiding their faces.
References
Reference 1: https://www.esohr.org/en/?p=2974
Reference 2: https://www.esohr.org/en/?p=1266
Reference 3: https://www.adhrb.org/2016/09/facing-death-sentence-saudi-arabia-alleged-crimes-committed-minors/
Reference 4: None
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