Saudi Arabia\u2019s trial of 32 men for allegedly spying on behalf of Iran has violated the basic due process rights of the defendants, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n
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Saudi Arabia\u2019s trial of 32 men for allegedly spying on behalf of Iran has violated the basic due process rights of the defendants, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n
Over nearly three years of detention and investigation and the first two months of hearings, authorities have not permitted defendants to meet with lawyers or provided all of the court documents necessary to prepare a defense. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against 25 of the 32.<\/p>\n
The men are accused of spying for Iran. But the charge sheet, which Human Rights Watch reviewed, contains numerous allegations that do not resemble recognizable crimes, including \u201csupporting demonstrations,\u201d \u201charming the reputation of the kingdom,\u201d and attempting to \u201cspread the Shia confession.\u201d The trial began in February 2016 at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis trial is shaping up as another stain on Saudi Arabia\u2019s grossly unfair criminal justice system,\u201d said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saudi Arabia\u2019s trial of 32 men for allegedly spying on behalf of Iran has violated the basic due process rights of the defendants, Human Rights Watch said. \u00a0 \u00a0 Saudi Arabia\u2019s trial of 32 men for allegedly spying on behalf of Iran has violated the basic due process rights of the defendants, Human Rights Watch …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[71,33,38,79],"class_list":["post-2749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-human-rights-watch","tag-iraq","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-shia"],"yoast_head":"\n