Government appoints Khashoggi murder cover-up agent as President of counter-terrorism court

Saudi Arabia issued a royal decree appointing a detective implicated in the cover-up of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder as President of the country’s counter-terrorism court, as well as detectives and prosecutors loyal to the Crown Prince to serve as judges for the court, according to Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).

As a result of these appointments, the court has handed several harsh jail terms, reversing relatively milder penalties granted by lower courts, including sentencing two Saudi women to 34 and 45 years in prison, respectively, for their use of social media.

These appointments were made following the arrest and removal of at least nine notable judges by the State Security Agency on April 11, 2022.

“The Crown Prince is appointing loyalist security officials who lack even basic training as judges to its kangaroo ‘counter-terrorism’ court, punishing the mildest social dissent with shocking sentences,” said Abdullah Alaoudh, Gulf Director at DAWN.

“Rewarding a detective involved in the cover-up of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder with an appointment to head this court is only the latest snub to accountability for the murder and a glimpse into the government’s staggering disregard for justice and due process.”

The royal proclamation announcing the appointment of at least ten investigators and prosecutors to the Specialized Criminal Court, dated June 9 and acquired by DAWN, is unique in Saudi Arabia.

One selected is Abdullah bin Shayea al-Qahtani, who formerly worked as a prosecutor in the State Security Circuit of the Public Prosecution.

In addition to acquiring a bachelor’s degree in law or its equivalent, judges are generally required to attend at least two years of judicial training and study at the High Judicial Institute.

The appointments came after the State Security Agency removed at least nine justices from the Terrorism Court, the Terrorism Appeals Court, and the High Court, arresting and charging them with treason. There is no information on the prosecution of these judges.

Detective Awadh bin Ali bin Ayedh al-Mayshar al-Ahmari has been appointed as President of the Specialized Criminal Court.

Al-Ahmari was implicated in the cover-up of the Khashoggi murder in Istanbul, heading to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018 with Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb reportedly to investigate the murder.

Nevertheless, according to the report of the Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions of the United Nations, the Saudi delegation assisted in removing the evidence of the crime, preventing Turkish authorities from investigating the location, and providing false information to the public about what had transpired.

Attorney General al-Mojeb opted not to indict the crown prince’s right-hand man, Saud al-Qahtani, despite the United Nations and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence identifying him as the operation’s mastermind. In addition to inconsistent allegations regarding the murder, the Saudi prosecutors neglected to examine the whereabouts of Khashoggi’s remains.

According to a top official in the Saudi judiciary who was interviewed by DAWN on August 20 2022, Al-Ahmari and the other recently recruited investigators and prosecutors have close relations with the Saudi Royal Court and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS).

These sources further revealed that al-Ahmari and other recently appointed judges once served in the State Security Circuit of the Public Prosecution Office, which has been responsible for harassing, questioning, and prosecuting social critics in the nation.

A source close to a famous Saudi human rights defender told DAWN on September 7, 2022 that al-Ahmari interrogated their family members over the defender’s nonviolent political engagement and coerced the family members into confessing.

“The selection of these MBS allies to head the country’s infamous terrorist court would amplify the role of the judiciary in Saudi repression,” stated Alaoudh. “The most recent sentences of 34 and 45 years jail against women whose only crime was tweeting in favour of change should tell you all you need to know about how MBS plans to utilise his cronies to intimidate Saudi people,” the author writes.

Saudi officials established the Specialized Criminal Court in 2008 to try terrorism-related cases, but authorities have used it to silence dissent in the country.

Many of the court’s decisions have involved unfair trials and harsh sentences against human rights defenders, political activists, and religious minorities.

The court has also presided over unjust mass trials, including one in which 81 persons were sentenced to death. On March 12, 2022, the Saudi Kingdom murdered 81 persons by beheading and firing squad.

The Specialized Criminal Court has jurisdiction over terrorism and security-related crimes brought under the infamous Counter-Terrorism Law, which criminalises government or royal criticism as “terrorist” acts.

Human rights organisations and United Nations officials have regularly condemned this law and the Anti-Cyber Crime Law for enabling the Saudi government to persecute its population and erode human rights.

Both regulations are intentionally ambiguous in order to provide Saudi authorities with maximal discretion and minimal accountability for excess.

Following President Biden’s July visit with MBS in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has seen a huge spike in the number of political activists and human rights advocates sentenced to severe jail terms in April.

Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two and doctoral student at Leeds University, was sentenced to 34 years in jail and a 43-year travel restriction on August 8 for her usage of social media.

Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani, a 49-year-old mother of five, was convicted the next day for tweeting to 45 years in jail and a 45-year travel restriction.

In the same month, the court condemned Abdulilah al-Huwaiti to 50 years in jail and a 50-year travel restriction for openly supporting his family’s rejection to be forcibly removed from their house for NEOM development.

It also convicted Osama Khaled, a writer, translator, and computer programmer, to 32 years in jail, after a lower court condemned him to five years in prison on charges connected to his right to free speech. Since 2020, Saudi officials have arrested Khaled.

“There is no doubt that President Biden’s handshake with MBS has brought in an even more extreme degree of persecution and breaches of human rights in Saudi Arabia,” Alaoudh stated.

“The relatives of al-Shehab, al-Qahtani, al-Huwaiti, Khaled, and others will find little consolation in President Biden’s pledge to challenge MBS on human rights violations in Saudi Arabia,”

DAWN has frequently demanded that Saudi perpetrators, including judges, be held accountable for their participation in facilitating state persecution against Saudi nationals, especially human rights advocates, civil society leaders, and democracy reformers.

This involves holding judges accountable for denying these individuals their fundamental due process rights at trial, sustaining convictions based on scant evidence, and imposing harsh jail terms.

In view of the country’s pervasive and systematic human rights violations, DAWN also encourages the United States to cease arms sales to the Kingdom.

Foreign Assistance Act section 502B forbids the transfer of armaments to governments having a history of serious human rights abuses.