The third hearing session in the ongoing trials of two prominent Saudi human rights activists was held earlier today, September 8, 2012. Mohammad al-Qahtani [1] and Abdullah al-Hamid [2], who are among the co-founders of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association [3], are facing charges that include inciting the public to protest and impeding the country’s development.
In the previous session [4], the judge decided that hearing sessions will not be public, after tens of reformists attended the trial, which is a surprising number in Saudi politics.
Earlier today, when it was time to start the hearing session, a policeman asked Dr. al-Qahtani and Dr. al-Hamid, who were sitting in the waiting area, to come without the rest of the attendees. They got inside the courtroom with their two lawyers. Dr. al-Qahtani's wife, Maha al-Qahtani, tweeted [ar]:
Soon after that, they got out for private consultation. Dr. al-Hamid told the attendees that they will accept a secret hearing session, provided that the next one will be public. One of the attendees, Sultan al-Ajmi, tweeted [ar]:
The judge insisted that today's hearing session would be private, and refused to give any assurances for upcoming sessions. Dr. al-Qahtani's lawyer, Fowzan al-Harbi, tweeted [ar]:
Dr. al-Hamid said to those who attended [ar]:
Dr. al-Qahtani said [10] [ar]:
Outside the court building, Dr. al-Hamid and al-Qahtani's talked to a group of people, including those who attended, condemning political trials and saying that the reason why the judge did not want a public hearing was that many would testify in public against the Interior Ministry's systemic torture. Soon after that, a bus full of riot policemen arrived to disperse them.
Both of them were released shortly, after signing a written pledge that they will not photograph court procedures again [14].