Human Rights Watch urges the European Union to condemn jail sentences given to Saudi internet activists. (File photo)
Human Rights Watch has called on the European Union to condemn heavy sentences handed down to internet activists by a court in Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the New York-based watchdog urged EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton to raise the issue during her upcoming meeting with Saudi authorities.
“If the EU doesn’t raise these cases with Saudi officials this weekend, its silence will look like craven compliance with the rights abuses of an authoritarian state,” Human Rights Watch deputy Mideast director, Joe Stork, said on Sunday.
On June 24, a Saudi court sentenced seven Å“government critics” up to 10 years in prison for Å“allegedly inciting protests and harming public order, largely by using Facebook,” the watch dog said.
The recent call was made ahead of a meeting in the Bahraini capital, Manama, where Ashton is chairing a joint EU-[Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) session aimed at discussing ways to boost ties between the two sides, later on Sunday.
“Sending people off two years in prison for peaceful Facebook posts sends a strong message that there’s no safe way to speak out in Saudi Arabia, even on online social networks,” Stork added.
More than 40,000 political prisoners, mostly prisoners of conscience, are reportedly in jails across Saudi Arabia.
Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in Qatif and Awamiyah, primarily calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.
However, the demonstrations turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially after November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the province.
SZH/PR
Republished with permission from:: Press TV