Members of the Facebook group “Constitutional movement”, rechristened the “Movement for justice”, have written to several political figures, as well as to the king, in a bid to free prisoners of conscience. Or at the very least, allow them a fair trial. Their request was turned down flat. “Now what? We have decided to use new technologies, especially the internet, to promote our cause,” says one of the founders of the Facebook group, Mohammad Al Qahatani, a professor at the King Saud University in Riyadh.

The group “Hunger Strike in Saudi Arabia,” launched October 25 on Facebook, is attracting a growing number of devotees. The 13 members of the Movement for Justice, initiators of a hunger strike, constituted the first members of the new group. And 221 members have already joined the Arabic version of the group.

How an aggressive arrest led to a strike

Human rights activists in Saudi Arabia, as well as intellectuals, are often harassed. Members of the Movement for justice, which is agitating for a constitutional monarchy, has since its very inception in 2004 succumbed to pressure to stop their activities. Several of them have been imprisoned for months, without a trial. Al Qahtani said, “No charges have been brought against them.” If their opinions upset the powers that be, the latter have not shown it.

But the arrest, three months ago, of Matuq al Faleh, a political science professor at the King Saud University, has encouraged people to mobilise. “Fifteen people were arrested by the secret service in an aggressive manner while going about their normal professorial duties,” said Ayman Al Rashed, a human rights activist. Al Faleh’s family found out his fate through friends, after having lost contact with him.

‘Apply the law regardless of the sensibleness of the system’

Matruq al Faleh is in an individual prison cell, but he has not been tried. He has begun a hunger strike, despite suffering from diabetes.

The arrest of al Faleh is “against the law”, said al Qathani. “He was arrested by the secret service, even though the real blame falls on the investigatory and arrest committee.”

Even if the investigatory and arrest committee is not totally independent, it depends on the Ministry of the Interior, like all secret services. Al Qathani calls on them to “apply the law, despite all the irrationalities in the judicial system.”

The media’s silence

No Saudi media outlet has yet reported about the Internet campaign. Same with other media in the rest of the Arab world. But al Qahtani is optimistic. “Since the beginning of the campaign, a prisoner of conscience is now allowed to see his family in his cell after eight months of imprisonment.”

There are other signs that the campaign is working. “People have been threatened against joining our movement,” says al Qahtani. “It’s a victory for us, proving we have moved those in power to react, even if it means they are reacting against us.”