2015 Saudi-Arabia: Waleed el Doud Almekki Alhussain
King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Oslo, 07.09.2015
Your Majesty,
Norwegian PEN is concerned about the sudanese journalist and blogger Waleed el Doud Almekki Alhussain, who has been detained for more than a month without charge, and especially concerned about the danger that he will be extradited to Khartoum on request of the Sudanese Government. Alhussain is a resident of Saudi Arabia, and we urge the Saudi Arabian Authorities to release him if, as appears, he is held solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
Norwegian PEN urge annulment of the decision to extradite Waleed el Doud Almekki Alhussain to Sudan on clear grounds: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Article 3 claims that «No State Party shall expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.»
Alhussain and his brothers have been targeted by the Sudanese government and threatened by agents of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) because of their activities with the news website Alrakoba. We hope that Waleed el Doud Almekki Alhussain will be kept safe. In the meantime, he should be granted access to a lawyer of his choice and regular acess to his family.
Yours sincerely,
Ms Brit Bildøen
Chair of Writers in Prison Committee
Norwegian PEN
COPY: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
