Al-Ha'ir Prison

Al-Ha'ir Prison

Al-Ha’ir Prison (Arabic: سجن الحاير , also romanized as al-Hayer, al-Hayar, or al-Haer) is a Saudi Arabian maximum-security prison facility located approximately 25 miles south of Riyadh. Saudi Arabia's largest prison, the complex includes facilities for both common criminals and security offenders, and reportedly houses a number of al-Qaeda figures.

In September 2003 there was a major fire at al-Ha’ir in which sixty-seven inmates died and at least twenty were injured.

Famous inmates have included:

* William Sampson, a British-Canadian man tortured and kept in solitary confinement for 31 months, and Sandy Mitchell, one of Sampson's co-accused
* Mohammad Al-Harbi, a Saudi high-school teacher who was accused of mocking religion and sentenced to three years' imprisonment and 750 lashes

Lawsuit

In October 2004, former detainees William Sampson, Sandy Mitchell and Les Walker, part of a group of eight foreign nationals convicted of bombing, terrorism and espionage (and subsequently released on royal pardon) were given permission by the British Court of Appeal to sue for redress for wrongful conviction and torture. Named in the suit were:

* Prince Naif, Minister of Interior
* Mohammed Said, governor of al-Ha'ir Prison
* Ibrahim al-Dali, officer of the Mabaheth (the Saudi Arabian general intelligence service)
* Khaled al-Saleh, officer of the Mabaheth

In 2006 this judgement was overturned by the Law Lords, and the plaintiffs have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.

External links

* [http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/saudi/prison2.html CBC News: Inside a Saudi Prison]
* [http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2003/me_saudis_09_16.html World Tribune - Fire in the Prison in 2003]

References

* "Jailing Jihadis: Saudi Arabia’s Special Terrorist Prisons" at [http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373926 Global Terrorism Analysis]


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