Saudi Arabian human rights activist deported

al-Otaibi Saudi Arabian human rights activistSaudi Arabian human rights activist al-Otaibi, Photo: hrw.org

Saudi Arabian human rights activist deported from Qatar

Saudi Arabian human rights activist with refugee status in Norway deported from Qatar to Saudi Arabia.

 

Qatar has arrested and deported a Saudi Arabian human rights activist who was on his way to Norway as a quota refugee.

According to the Gulf Center for Human Rights fled Mohammed al-Otaibi from Saudi Arabia to Qatar in March when the Government threatened to put him for a counter-terrorism court.

His wife fled with him, and on Sunday they should travel to Norway, equipped with Norwegian travel documents.

– We can confirm that a Saudi human rights activist who has been admitted to Norway as a quota refugee, has been sent to Saudi Arabia from Qatar, says Andreas Skjøld Lorange to NTB. Lorange is Communications Advisor in the Ministry of Justice.

According to Skjøld Lorange it was only Mohammed al-Otaibi who is deported to Saudi Arabia, not his wife.

Confirms deportation

The Qatar authorities confirm that the Saudi Arabian activist is forcefully returned to his country of origin.

– The expulsion was warranted in legal procedure and regional and international agreements related to the expulsion of accused persons and criminals, according to the official news agency, QNA.

al-Otaibi was in 2013 one of the founders of the Union for Human Rights in Riyadh, which the authorities banned one month after they started. He continued his struggle for human rights, wrote reports and gave interviews to the authorities’ strong dissatisfaction.

Warns against abuse

Human Rights Watch in April warned Qatar against returning al-Otaibi to Saudi Arabia. They made it clear that he risks ill-treatment and prolonged imprisonment there.

UN Special Rapporteur, Ben Emmerson, went out against the Riyadh authorities earlier this month. He accused them of using the country’s anti-terrorist acts as a pretext for pursuing people “who peacefully use their freedom of speech.”

 

© NTB Scanpix / hrw.org / Norway Today