Saudi-Australian man was extradited from Morocco despite being 'cleared of wrongdoing'
A Saudi-Australian man extradited from Morocco to Saudi Arabia in March had been cleared two years ago of the charges brought against him, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
Osama al-Hasani had travelled to Morocco in February to
visit his wife and newborn child, but was detained upon arrival in connection
with a 2015 luxury car theft case.
On 13 March, the dual Saudi and Australian citizen was
handed over by Moroccan authorities to the Gulf kingdom, despite an outcry from
activists who raised concerns about his safety.
Hasani has not been heard from since the extradition, and
his whereabouts remain unknown.
New details revealed by HRW suggest that Saudi authorities
had long cleared him of wrongdoing in the theft case.
The extradition request stated that Hasani was wanted for
conspiring with six others to steal several Range Rovers from a car dealership
in February 2015.
However, a Saudi justice ministry affidavit seen by HRW,
dated September 2019, found that Hasani had been absolved due to lack of
evidence.
The document stated that the court saw “no reason for the
continuation of the search for him, the tracking of his arrival, the arrest
warrant, stopping his [government] services, the international extradition
request against him, and all criminal procedures against him in this case”.
“Trying al-Hasani on charges for which he was previously
cleared would be yet another shameless example of the Saudi judiciary’s lack of
independence and due process,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director
of HRW.
“The Moroccan authorities’ dismissal of al-Hasani’s
justified fear of ill-treatment and unfair trial upon return makes a mockery of
their international human rights obligations.”
‘Politically motivated’ extradition
Hasani’s lawyer, Haydee Dijkstal, has previously raised
concerns about her client’s safety, and the possible political motivations of
his extradition.
She said in March that there was a risk that Hasani would be
tortured and abused due to “credible concerns that [he] is being targeted by
the government of Saudi Arabia for political opinions he has expressed which
have been critical of the government”.
Prominent London-based Saudi opposition figure Saad al-Faqih
said that he may have been arrested due to his association with a network of
Saudi opposition groups, according to a report by SBS News.
Faqih stressed that the Saudi-Australian citizen was not
himself a political activist.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights wrote
to Moroccan authorities in March urging them not to deport Hasani over torture
concerns.
However, Rabat’s mission in Geneva replied that it had
already extradited him to Saudi Arabia before it was “able to process” the UN’s
request.
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