Human rights groups have reported that a Saudi court has sentenced Saudi-Australian academic Osama al-Hasani to prison.
The sources report that the Special Criminal Court in Riyadh has sentenced al-Hasani to four years in prison.
On 8 February, Moroccan authorities detained al-Hasani four hours after his arrival in the country. Moroccan security forces insulted and beat him in front of his wife, according to her testimony to Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK).
Al-Hasani’s arrest followed a demand from the Saudi public prosecutor. He was forcibly transferred to Riyadh on 13 March, after which no reliable information about the 42-year-old has been made available.
AOHR UK has warned of the danger to al-Hassani’s safety, security, and life, in light of the deteriorating human rights conditions and judicial system in Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, AOHR UK has said that the extradition process was based on a Moroccan-Saudi political agreement that violated both Moroccan and international law. And, the organisation added, after over a month of detention in Morocco, al-Hasani was subjected to a mock trial – one that involved numerous legal violations and ended with its decision to extradite al-Hasani to Saudi Arabia.
His lawyer was unable to challenge the decision. The court’s decision was revealed via the “Electronic Judgement System” rather than in the court itself, as al-Hasani’s lawyers have confirmed, blocking the appeal process.
The rapid extradition of al-Hasani demonstrates the Moroccan authorities’ complicity in endangering al-Hasani’s life.
AOHR UK condemned the continuing security cooperation between the Moroccan authorities and the Saudi regime – even whilst the Saudi regime’s role in such crimes as the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has become fully apparent.
AOHR UK has called on the Australian authorities to fulfill their duty and act and save Osama Al-Hasani from the terrible fate that awaits him following his extradition to Saudi.
