Activists: Contact with Saudi political prisoners suspended for no reason

Contact with political detainees in Saudi Arabia has not been reinstated, the rights group Prisoners of Conscience said on Twitter.

The group added that the specialised punitive court has deliberately refrained from taking any steps in “state security cases” throughout the coronavirus related closures even though the state considers these cases to be among its top priorities.

Unlike other courts in the country, those dealing with state security cases have been “on an unannounced holiday”, they explained, adding that Saudi Justice Minister Waleed Al-Samaani’s decision to speed up the completion of prisoners’ court cases has only affected criminals and those charged in finance-related cases, and it does not include those held in state security cases.

This has resulted in a “freeze” on all political prisoners’ cases.

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