Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide (72 page)

62
. “Saudi Authorities Set to Release Turkish Man,”
Today’s Zaman
, May 27, 2008; Ali Khan Ghazanfar, “Barber Facing Death for Slandering Prophet Freed,”
Arab News
, June 5, 2008,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=110603&d=5&m=6&y=2008
.

63
. Neil MacFarquhar, “A Few Saudis Defy a Rigid Islam to Debate Their Own Intolerance,”
New York Times
, July 12, 2002,
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9506E4D91030F931A25754C0A9649C8B63
. See also Faiza Saleh Ambah, “An Unprecedented Uproar Over Saudi Religious Police,”
The Washington Post
, June 22, 2007,
http://www.washington-post.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/06/21/AR2007062102466.html
.

64
. Christopher Boucek, “Saudi Arabia’s ‘Soft’ Counterterrorism Strategy: Prevention, Rehabilitation and Aftercare” (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2008), 4,
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/cp97_boucek_saudi_final.pdf
. For other examples, on Turki al-Hamad, see Malu Halasa, “Triumphant Trilogy,”
Time.com
, January 9, 2005,
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1015836,00.html
. On Hamza Al-Maziani, a linguistics professor at King Saud University, see Raid Qusti, “Crown Prince Quashes Jail Term of Saudi Writer,”
Arab News
, March 22, 2005,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=60829&d=22&m=3&y=2005
. On Ra’if Badawi, see “Saudi Arabia: Stop Trials for ‘Insulting’ Islam,” Human Rights Watch, May 13, 2008,
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2007/02/08/letter-king-abdullah?print
. On Yousef Aba Al-Khail and Abdullah bin Bejad al-Otaibi, see Ian Black, “Intellectuals Condemn Fatwa Against Writers,”
The Guardian
, April 3, 2008; Abeer Mishkas, “Of Fatwas and Infidels,”
Arab News
, March 27, 2008,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=108283&d=27&m=3&y=2008
. On further reformers, see “Saudis on Strike: Pressure for Democratic Change in the Middle East Will Continue, with or without U.S. Help,”
The Washington Post
, November 7, 2008, A18,
http://hub.witness.org/SaudiHungerStrike
.

65
. “Cleric Issues Fatwa Against Journalists and Writers,” Committee to Protect Journalists, September 22, 2008,
http://cpj.org/2008/09/cleric-issues-fatwa-against-journalists-andwriter.php
; Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies,
Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform
, 177. In 2008, al-Lihedan was replaced; see Nina Shea, “New Hope for Reform in Saudi
Arabia?”
National Review Online
, “The Corner” blog, February 16, 2009,
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/177439/new-hope-reform-saudi-arabia/nina-shea
.

66
. “Saudi Cleric Backs Gender Segregation with Fatwa,” Reuters, February 23, 2010,
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-46408620100223
. In March 2010, housewife and poet Hissa Hilal, in what was seen, inter alia, as a criticism of al-Barrak, on the “Million’s Poet” poetry competition broadcast live every week on Emirati television, blasted clerics who issue evil fatwas. Hilal subsequently received death threats. “Veiled Saudi Poet Rises to Stardom after Bashing Clerics,”
AFP
, March 23, 2010,
http://www.france24.com/en/20100323-veiled-saudi-poet-rises-stardom-after-bashing-clerics
.

67
. Center for Religious Freedom,
Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology
, 20, 34.

68
. “Saudi Teacher Sentenced to Prison and Flogging for Religious Discussion with Pupils,” Network for Education and Academic Rights, November 17, 2005,
http://www.nearinternational.org/alert-detail.asp?alertid=408
; Ebtihal Mubarak, “Al-Harbi Case Sparks Debate,”
Arab News
, November 21, 2005,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73487&d=21&m=11&y=2005
; “Saudi Islamic Doctrine Hard to Control,” Associated Press, April 19, 2004,
http://www.islamdaily.net/EN/Contents.aspx?AID=1005
.

69
. Ebtihal Mubarak, “Another Teacher Gets Royal Pardon,”
Arab News
, December 11, 2005,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=74530
.

70
. Ebtihal Mubarak, “Justice Served in Al-Suhaimi Case,”
Arab News
, January 4, 2006,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=75762&d=4&m=1&y=2006
.

71
. Ebtihal Mubarak, “Another Teacher Gets Royal Pardon.”

72
. From “Due Process and Fair Trial Violations,” in
Precarious Justice: Arbitrary Detention and Unfair Trials in the Deficient Criminal Justice System of Saudi Arabia
, Human Rights Watch, March 2008,
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/62304/section/13
; Information provided to Ali Al-Ahmed by Al-Suhaimi’s family and friends. See also examples given in Michael Scott Doran, “The Saudi Paradox,”
Foreign Affairs
, January/February 2004,
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040101faessay83105/michael-scott-doran/the-saudi-paradox.html
.

73
. According to
AFP
, Al-Domaini, unlike most of the other detainees, had not actually signed this petition; Lydia Georgi, “Three Saudi Reformists Go on Trial after Two Months in Detention: Wife,” AFP, May 19, 2004.

74
. Claude Salhani, “Politics & Policies: Saudi Jails Reformers,” May 16, 2005,
http://politicspolicies.wordpress.com/2005/05/16/politics-policies-saudi-jails-reformers/
; “Political Reformers Sentenced,” Human Rights Watch,
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2005/05/15/saudi-arabia-political-reformers-sentenced
.

75
. Edgar C. Cadano, “Abdullah Pardons 5 Saudi Reformers,”
Saudi Gazette
, August 9, 2005; “Saudi Activists Plan Hunger Strike to Protest Jailing of Reformists,”
Washington Post
, November 1, 2008,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/31/AR2008103103410_pf.html
.

76
. “Saudi Jailed for Discussing the Bible,” Reuters, November 14, 2005,
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/nov/14/20051114-015138-3548r/
; Ebtihal Mubarak, “Teacher Charged with Mocking Religion Sentenced to Jail,”
Arab News
, November 14, 2005,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73171
; Network for Education and Academic Rights, “Saudi Teacher Sentenced to Prison and Flogging for Religious Discussion with Pupils,” November 17, 2005,
http://www.nearinternational.org/alert-detail.asp?alertid=408
.

77
. “Liberal Journalists Arrested on Apostasy Charges,” SIA News, April 7, 2006,
http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=187&sid=2
.

78
. Ebtihal Mubarak, “Journalist’s Car Vandalized,”
Arab News
, November 16, 2005,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73279
.

79
. AFP, “Saudi Frees Journalist Held Over Internet Writings,”
Khaleej Times
, April 20, 2006; Ebtihal Mubarak, “Journalist Detained for Internet Remarks,”
Arab News
, April 9, 2008,
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=80462
; “Saudi Arabia: Al Qa’ida Critic Arrested for ‘Destructive Thoughts,’” Human Rights Watch, April 12, 2006,
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/04/11/saudi-arabia-al-qa-ida-critic-arrested-destructive-thoughts
;
“Saudi journalist, accused of un-Islamic writings, is freed,” Committee to Protect Journalists, April 20, 2006.

80
. Neil MacFarquhar, “Saudi Reformers: Seeking Rights, Paying a Price,”
New York Times
, June 9, 2005,
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/09/international/middleeast/09saudi.html
; Mahan Abedin, “Saudi Dissent More Than Just Jihadis,” Saudi Debate, June 15, 2006,
http://www.e-prism.org/images/Saudi_dissent_more_than_just_ihadis_-_15-6-06.pdf
; “Jihad and the Saudi petrodollar,”
BBC News
, November 15, 2007,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7093423.stm
.

81
. Duraid Al Baik, “Journalists Face Possible Blasphemy Charges,”
Gulf News
, December 29, 2009,
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/journalists-face-possible-blasphemy-charges-1.559177
.

82
. Neeral Gangal, “Saudi Blasphemy Case Filed against Writer-paper,”
Arabian Business
, March 19, 2010,
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/584088-saudi-blasphemy-case-filed-against-writer—paper
. Al Arabiya TV was reportedly charged with insulting God, Muhammad, and the Angel Gabriel; however, the Saudi Ministry of Justice says it never received such a case. See Andy Sambige. “Saudi Blasphemy Case Filed against TV Channel-report,”
Arabian Business
, October 29, 2009,
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/571908-saudis-launch-blasphemy-case-against-tv-channel—report
; “Confusion over Al Arabiya Blasphemy Charges,” November 1, 2009,
http://www.ameinfo.com/214399.html
.

83
. Middle East Media Research Institute, Special Dispatch #1070: “Saudi Doctorate Encourages the Murder of Arab Intellectuals,” January 12, 2006,
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/1677.htm
.

84
. Ibid.

85
. “The Fatwa Against the Royal Family,”
The Economist
, October 11, 2001.

86
. Neil MacFarquhar, “For Saudis, Jihad Abroad Is Terror at Home,”
New York Times
, April 23, 2004,
http://www.mafhoum.com/press7/191P9.htm
; Megan K. Stack, “Jihad Hits Home in Saudi Arabia,”
Los Angeles Times
, April 25, 2004,
http://articles.latimes.com/2004/apr/25/world/fg-saudi25
.

1
. “PEN American Center, “Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari,”
http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/422
.

2
. “Iranian Reformists Condemn Hardline Clerical Court,”
CNN.com
, October 19, 2000,
http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/10/19/iran.court/
.

3
. “2005 Report on International Religious Freedom,”
International Religious Freedom Report 2005
, U.S. State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/
; “Stifling Dissent: The Human Rights Consequences of Inter-Factional Struggle in Iran,” Human Rights Watch May 2001,
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/iran/Iran0501-05.htm
; “Iran Court Lifts Death Verdict on Dissident Cleric,”
Gulf News
, May 20, 2001,
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/iran-court-lifts-death-verdict-on-dissident-cleric-1.417071
; “Mr. Yusefi-Eshkevari Is Tried Behind Closed Doors by Special Court,”
Iran Press Service
, October 9, 2000,
http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2000/oct_2000/eshkevari_trial_91000.htm
; “Cleared of Heaviest Charges, Eshkevari Faces Long Term Jail,”
Iran Press Service
, October 23, 2000,
http://www.iran-pressservice.com/articles_2000/oct_2000/eshkevari_reactions_231000.htm
; PEN American Center, “Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari.”

4
. “Convert Couple Arrested, Tortured, Threatened,”
Compass Direct News
, June 25, 2008,
http://archive.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&idelement=5448&lang=en&length=short&backpage=archives&critere=&countryname=Iran&rowcur=0
; also “New Law in Iran: Death Penalty for ‘Online Crimes,’”
Jerusalem Post
, July 8, 2008,
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215330897449&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
; “Safe at Last, by Grace of God, but They Still Need Your Prayers,”
Open Doors
, July 7, 2009,
http://www.opendoors.org.nz/article/67/safe-at-last-by-grace-of-god-but-they-still-need-your-prayers
.

5
. Mehrangiz Kar, “Shari’a Law in Iran,” in
Radical Islam’s Rules: The Worldwide Spread of Extreme Sharia Law
, ed. Paul Marshall (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005), 46; on religious minorities in Iran, see Eliz Sanasarian,
Religious Minorities in Iran
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000); Jamsheed K. Chosky, “Despite Shahs and Mollas: Minority Sociopolitics in Premodern and Modern Iran,”
Journal of Asian History
40, no 2 (2006): 129–84.

6
. Ladan Boroumand, “Iran’s Resilient Civil Society: The Untold Story of the Fight for Human Rights,”
Journal of Democracy
18, no. 4 (October 1, 2007): 66,
http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/gratis/Boroumand-18–4.pdf
.

7
. Asghar Schirazi,
The Constitution of Iran: Politics and State in the Islamic Republic
, trans. John O’Kane (London: I.B. Tauris, 1997), 35.

8
. “Islamic Penal Code of Iran,” trans. Mission for Establishment of Human Rights in Iran (MEHR IRAN),
http://mehr.org/Islamic_Penal_Code_of_Iran.pdf
.

9
. Saeed Doroudi, “Apostasy in the Legal System of Iran,”
Iran Morning Daily
8, no. 2032 (January 22, 2002): 6.

10
. “Iran—Constitution,”
http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/ir00000_.html
. Article 167: “The judge is bound to endeavor to judge each case on the basis of the codified law. In case of the absence of any such law, he has to deliver his judgment on the basis of authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatawa. He, on the pretext of the silence of or deficiency of law in the matter, or its brevity or contradictory nature, cannot refrain from admitting and examining cases and delivering his judgment.”