Al Shammari served five years in prison from 1983 to 1989 after being accused of a murder. At the time of the sentence, Shammari’s defense claimed that their was no proof that the deceased was killed as a result of the fight had with Shammari the previous day. Shammari was released in 1989 upon his payment of 12,000 Saudi Riyals as blood money.
Shammari was arrested in 1990 after completing a prison sentence from 1983-1989, based upon a decision by the Saudi Supreme Judicial Council to overturn the decisions of both, the court of first instance, and the court of appeals. The Supreme Judicial Council decision opened a new case for Shammari without providing sufficient information on why his release was being revoked; Shammari was sentenced to execution in 1992.
FIDH, CIHRS and HRFS oppose the death penalty in all cases and without exception, believing it to be a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The death penalty legitimizes an irreversible act of violence by the state. There is no clear evidence that the death penalty deters crime any more effectively than other forms of punishment, it denies the possibility of reconciliation or rehabilitation and has been inflicted on the innocent.
FIDH, CIHRS and HRFS urge the Saudi Authorities:
– to suspend immediately the decision for execution
– to open a new trial for the case of Al Shammari wherein all judicial conditions of fairness and transparency are safeguarded, including access to legal council for the defendant.
FIDH, CIHRS and HRFS also urge His Highness the Custodian Of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to intervene in his capacity to ensure that all judicial procedures are taking place fairly and impartially to look into the case of Al Shammari specifically.