Human Rights Watch on Sunday criticised Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system after a court sentenced a prominent human rights activist to five years in prison over his writings. Saudi Arabia's Specialised Criminal Court sentenced Mikhlif al-Shammari to five years in prison on June 17, "based on his writings and exposure of human rights abuses," said the New York-based watchdog.
Shammari was convicted of "sowing discord" and other offences, said HRW. He was barred from travelling for 10 years.
Shammari, 58, was arrested in June 2010 on a charge of "annoying others," said HRW. He was released on bail in February last year, a month before his trial began.
Shammari, a writer who belongs to the large Al-Shammar tribe, had campaigned to improve ties with the kingdom's Shiite minority who complain of marginalisation in the Sunni-dominated kingdom, HRW said.
It said the activist had criticised "government rights violations, many of which have targeted the Shia." On June 15, a court handed two Saudi women 10-month jail sentences for seeking to help a Canadian woman who wanted to leave her Saudi husband and flee the kingdom with her children.