Al-Bajadi Nears Death after Refusing Water, Amnesty International Urges His Immediate Release

Amnesty International called Friday for the release of the human rights activist Mohammed bin Saleh al-Bajadi who has been on hunger strike in a Saudi jail for five weeks.

According to the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), its cofounder has reportedly refused to take water since last weekend.
Amnesty said al-Bajadi has been held since March 21, 2011, a day after he attended a protest in Riyadh by families of detainees.

“He has been charged with harming the reputation of the state and having banned books in his possession, and been on trial since August at a special court set up to try terrorism and security-related offences,” it said.
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the deputy head of Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa program stated that “Al-Bajadi is a prisoner of conscience held solely for the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.”

“All charges against him should be dropped and he should be released immediately,” Sahraoui said pointing out that “his hunger strike makes his release all the more urgent as his health must be deteriorating with each day he refuses food and water.”
ACPRA itself warned on Tuesday that “the Saudi interior ministry… carries full responsibility over the deteriorating health condition of al-Bajadi.”

“Al-Bajadi stopped drinking water early Saturday… fainting four times in a row, which proves that his life is in danger and his death inevitable,” the NGO said.
The rights group called for the activist’s “immediate release,” saying that “he must face a fair public trial.”