Saudi Arabia's new interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, is "perceived as progressive, efficient and result-orientated"according to columnist Hussein Shobokshi. One test of that will be whether his ministry continues to pursue several Saudi rights activists who are currently facing ridiculous charges.

Two of the activists – Mohammed al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamid – appeared in court again on Saturday, only to have their case adjourned for a further two weeks.

Both are charged with a similar set of "crimes" for which they could be sentenced to five years in jail, along with a travel ban and a hefty fine.

Here is a list of the actual charges (translation from the official 
Arabic text provided by Ahmed al-Omran):

1. Attempting to plant the seeds of discord and strife, breaking allegiance to the ruler and his successor, questioning the integrity of and insulting state officials.

2. Questioning the integrity and piety of the members of the Senior Ulema Council by – falsely – accusing it to be a tool that approves government policies in return for financial and moral support as in the case of forbidding street protests.

3. Accusing Saudi judiciary in its regulations and applications of being unable to deliver justice for breaching the standards set by Islamic Sharia.

4. Accusing Saudi judiciary of being unjust by allowing torture and accepting confessions extracted under duress.

5. Accusing the Saudi regime – unfairly – of being a police state built on injustice and oppression veiled in religion, and using the judiciary to legitimize injustice to continue its systematic approach to violate human rights.

6. Inciting public opinion by accusing security bodies and their senior officials of oppression, torture, assassination, enforced disappearances, and violating human rights.

7. Antagonizing international organizations against the Kingdom, and instigating them to focus on criticizing the Kingdom’s civic, political, economical, social and cultural fundamentals.

8. Co-founding an unlicensed organization and making it appear as a reality by which he attempts to oppose state policy, spread divisiveness and disunity, spread accusations against the state’s judiciary and executive institutions and senior officials of injustice and transgressions; engaging in specialities that affect others’ rights and freedoms and the encroachment upon the specialties of governmental and non-governmental organizations (Human Rights Commission, National Society for Human Rights) and participating in writing statements released by them and publishing it on the internet.

9. Preparing, storing and sending what could affect general order which is punishable by Section 1 in Article 6 of the E-Crimes law.

10. Describing the General Intelligence body [mabaheth] as illegal militias.

11. Providing false information as true facts and delivering them to official international bodies (UN Human Rights Council) which includes statements he delivered to these international organizations about proceedings regarding suing individuals that he gave which contradicts the truth and reality documented in official papers.

Amnesty International has been urging the Saudi government to 
drop the case against them since "it appears to be based solely on their legitimate work to defend human rights in Saudi Arabia and their criticism of the authorities".

Hamid, 65, and Qahtani, 46, are co-founders of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), a human rights NGO which appears to be the "unlicensed organisation" mentioned in the charge sheet.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 11 November 2012.