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Abdelfatah Ali Hassan, Ali Sheikh Yusuf, Abdullah Adam Abdullah, Hussein Haroon Mohamed, AbdiNur Mohamed Weli and Abdullah Hassan Abdu, may Allah bless their soul, were from the war ravaged country of Somalia who unfortunately found themselves under the wrath of a barbaric sword unleashed by merciless Saudi judges, who ordered their senseless brutal execution.
These men, who escaped from the poverty and lack of peace that had engulfed their home country – Somalia - were found to be an easy prey with no Government to defend or plead for their release. These individuals regrettably were denied their fundamental right to legal representation as prescribed in the universal charter of human rights. On April 4, 2005, the authority of the Saudi Kingdom beheaded six Somali men accused of robbery. This act was not only unfair, but also inhumane and barbaric. Above all, such action by the most powerful and richest Muslim nation on earth is a reminder that Said Samatar's critical and soul-searching questions about Muslim countries (see Unhappy Masses, WardheerNews) deserve all the more urgent attention. Saudi Kingdom 's killing of six poor and street criminal Somalis is contrary to the established principles of law and civilized international behavior. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have raised legitimate concerns about the legality of the harsh sentence imposed on the defendants for a crime of robbery. According to the Saudi officials, there was no charge of murder attributed to the accused persons but only a robbery crime, and this crime's punishment is not the death penalty. The killings of the six Somali men by the Saudi Monarchy clearly demonstrates a serious flaw in the trial proceeding of the defendants, and is a flagrant violation of Islamic laws and international standards. We at WardheerNews, as with many other Somalis, and concerned organizations such as Amnesty International, strongly condemn the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for committing such a horrific execution of the Somalis without due process of the law, following International Standards of fairness. We also express our concerns on the treatments of many Somali citizens living in Saudi Arabia who face intimidation, torture, arbitrary arrest and deportation to the lawless Somalia , which is currently in a state of anarchy and has no functioning government today. One may recall the tragic incidents that occurred in mid 1988, during the Somali civil war when Saudi Authorities forcefully deported 1000 Somalis, who subsequently became the victims of persecution and imprisonment of the former regime of Siyad Barre. This shows the indifference and the lack of sensitivity and compassion by the Saudi administration on the fundamental issues of human rights and blight of Somalis who have been displaced and uprooted from their country as a result of a bloody civil war and conflict. The 6 accused men were initially sentenced to five years imprisonment and 3000 lashes By May 1999, which they fully served. Amnesty International raised justified concerns on the secrecy and unfairness that was associated with the court decision, which made these executions worrisome and most unwarranted. According to Amnesty International, the defendants and their families were not informed of their fate until the executions were about to occur. In this connection Abshir Hassan, a brother of one of the beheaded individuals, told the British Independent newspaper on April 10 that “The accused were forced to sign a confession written in Arabic which they did not understand”. It's important to note, that the Saudi justice system reserves such harsh executions for citizens from mostly poor developing nations. According to Amnesty reports since the beginning of the year, 40 foreign nationals have been executed, mostly from poor developing nations such as Somalia , Sudan, Pakistan and the Philippines . Western nationals were often treated with leniency . Consider the case of William Sampson a Canadian citizen, who has been convicted of carrying out bombing that killed a British man and injured a few others in Riyadh in Nov of 2000. After the Canadian foreign affairs office threatened to expel the Saudi Arabian ambassador, Mr. Sampson was released in 2004. Prince Charles also got involved with Saudi authorities to release this Canadian as well as five other British citizens who were convicted with him. In yet another case, the Australian nurse, Yvonne Gilford, was brutally murdered by her colleagues, British nurses Deborah Parry and Lucille McLauchlan according to Saudi authorities in 1996. They were saved from the sword once again by the heavy involvement of the British Government on their behalf. Although no one can attest as to whether these individuals committed such crimes or not, they were pardoned precisely because their governments lobbied the Saudi Authorities so heavily and placed so much pressure on them, these individuals were later released to their respective countries.There was no such luck for the 6 Somali men who were from the lawless country of Somalia . These men did not have a Prince or a competent government to help their release. Their fate was unfortunately placed in the hands of an unjust legal system and a barbaric theocratic government that beheads individuals under the auspices of the Sharia Law. We at WardheerNews urge Somalis and other concerned human rights organization to raise their voices and call or write to the local Saudi authorities and your representative such as your senator, congressman or member of parliament (MP) to highlight this inhumane execution of the Somalis, so similar incidents can be avoided in the future. Following are the contact information for the US and Uk Saudi Embassies:
Please send comments to: editorial@wardheernews.com
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