A Saudi human rights lawyer told AFP on Monday that he was to face trial by a court in Jeddah on charges of calling for a constitutional monarchy. Walid Abu al-Khair said he was summoned to court on Sunday, where he was informed orally of the charges against him, with neither a prosecutor or a judge present.
He said the charges include "communicating with foreign agencies to undermine the country's image, violation of justice, and incitement of public opinion to claim a constitutional monarchy." A renowned defender of human rights in the conservative Gulf kingdom, Abu al-Khair said he was to appear in court in the coming days.
International group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for an immediate withdrawal of the charges against him. "The Saudi Arabian authorities should immediately drop apparently politically motivated charges filed against human rights lawyer Walid Abu al-Khair," Christoph Wilcke, HRW's senior Middle East researcher, said in a statement.
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