Saudi Arabia: Indefinite detention in the name of counterterrorism

Human rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of unlawfully detaining thousands of people without trial or conviction under its counterterrorism program since 2003. According to a July report, 'Saudi Arabia: Assaulting Human Rights in the Name of Counter-Terrorism,' from the London-based Amnesty International, thousands of people have been arrested and detained in virtual secrecy, while hundreds more people face secret and summary trials and possible execution. Many are reported to have been tortured in order to extract confessions or as punishment after conviction, all under the guise of counterterrorism operations. This includes the indefinite detentions of more than 9,000 people, some of them peaceful political dissidents. The report claims the domestic intelligence agency, the General Directorate for Investigations or 'mabahith' - which runs its own prisons - has prevented effective judicial oversight.