Mabahith

General Investigation Directorate (Mabahith)
Seal of the Mabahith
Flag of the Mabahith
Agency overview
Formed October 14, 1924 (1924-10-14) as General Directorate of Public Security
Jurisdiction Government of Saudi Arabia
Headquarters Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Motto A homeland we don't protect, we don't deserve to live in
Agency executives
Parent agency Presidency of State Security

The Mabahith (Arabic: المباحث العامة‎, al-Mabāḥiṯ al-ʿĀmmah, General Investigation Directorate), also spelled Mabaheth, is the "secret police" agency of the Presidency of State Security in Saudi Arabia, and deals with domestic security and counter-intelligence.

Role

According to Human Rights Watch, the Mabahith "monitors suspected political opponents and others, targets individuals for arrest, and interrogates detainees. Mabahith agents operate with impunity and have been responsible for a wide range of human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, and torture"[1] including waterboarding, denailing, flagellation and beatings, amongst other forms of severe abuse.

Members of the Mabahith were allegedly responsible for the torture of Western detainees arrested during a car bombing campaign which started in 2000. Two members in particular, Khalid al-Saleh and Ibrahim al-Dali, were named by William Sampson in his court action against the Saudi government. Sampson and others lost their case in the UK High Court when the Saudis used the State Immunity Act 1978 as their defence.

Prisons

Al-Ha'ir Prison

Al-Haa'ir Prison is a Mabahith-affiliated prison.[2]

`Ulaysha Prison

Mabahith runs the `Ulaysha Prison in Riyadh,[3] where it holds prisoners under arbitrary detention. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has objected to arbitrary detention at Mabahith's prison.[4][5] As of June 2011, arbitrarily detained prisoners apparently include five founding members of a would-be political party, the Umma Islamic Party,[3] and Khaled al-Johani, who publicly protested in Riyadh on the 11 March "Day of Rage" during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Human Rights in Saudi Arabia: A Deafening Silence (Human Rights Watch Backgrounder, December 2001)
  2. ↑ "Saudi Arabia: Dispensing a Peaceful Demonstration after Assaulting Prisoner's Wife and Four of Her Children due to A video Segment". ANHRI. 2012-08-28. Archived from the original on 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  3. 1 2 Wilcke, Christopher (2011-02-19). "Secret Police Crackdown on Founders of First Political Party". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  4. ↑ "Saudi Arabia: Opinion on the arbitrary detention of Mr. Faiz bin Abdelmohsen Al Qaid". Alkarama for Human Rights. 2007-07-02. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  5. ↑ "Saudi Arabia: The Working Group of the United Nations describes the detention of Abdel Rahman Samara as arbitrary". Alkarama for Human Rights. 2009-04-21. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  6. ↑ Kennedy, Dana (2011-04-08). "Imprisoned Father of Autistic Boy Called "the Bravest Man in Saudi Arabia"". AOL News. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  7. ↑ "EU, US Leaders Should Publicly Condemn Human Rights Violations". Human Rights Watch. 2011-04-20. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
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