| Revision as of 19:12, 18 June 2014 editOsamaK (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers19,183 edits →External links: + articles on Waleed← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:58, 18 June 2014 edit undoOsamaK (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers19,183 edits + One more external link, and fixing the way his name is spelledNext edit → | ||
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| {{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| | name = Waleed |
| name = Waleed Abulkhair | ||
| | image = Waleed Abu Alkhair.jpg | | image = Waleed Abu Alkhair.jpg | ||
| | image_size = 200px | | image_size = 200px | ||
| | alt = Waleed |
| alt = Waleed Abulkhair in November 2012 | ||
| | caption = Waleed |
| caption = Waleed Abulkhair in November 2012 | ||
| | birth_name = | | birth_name = | ||
| | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|6|17|df=yes}} | | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|6|17|df=yes}} | ||
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| | box_width = | | box_width = | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| '''Waleed Sami Abu |
'''Waleed Sami Abu Abulkhair''' ({{lang-ar|وليد أبوالخير}}) is a Saudi Arabian lawyer and human rights activist, and the head of the "Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia" (MHRSA) organization. He was listed by ''Forbes'' magazine as one of Top 100 Most Influential Arabs on Twitter. | ||
| == Early life and education == | == Early life and education == | ||
| ⚫ | Abulkhair was born on 17 June 1979, in the coastal city of ], western ]. He received his bachelor degree in Arabic language from ] in 2003. Abulkhair began his career as a lawyer in 2007, when he joined Essam Basrawi's office for law firm and legal consultations. Then he moved to ] where he studied for his ] in Islamic Law (jurisprudence and its origins) at ], graduating in 2009, the topic of his thesis being ''Connection and Disconnection In Presumptions, Causes and Judgments'' supervised by Dr. Abdul Jalil Zauhair Damra. In the same year, after graduation, Abulkhair established his own human rights organization (MHRSA) which he managed to register in ] in 2012 to became the first registered Saudi human rights organization.<ref>]</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| == Beginning of activities == | == Beginning of activities == | ||
| In 2007, |
In 2007, Abulkhair and other activists released a reform petition titled ''Parameters of the Constitutional Monarchy'' in which they have requested from the Saudi royal family to change to current ruling regime (absolute monarchy) into a democratic system to insure the participation of the people through free elections. One year later, he organised a hunger strike for prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia for 48 hours, as the first ] campaign in ] in a ] case. | ||
| === Prominence in the community === | === Prominence in the community === | ||
| In 2009, he filed a lawsuit against the Interior Ministry to release the reform activist Abdul Rahman Al Shumari. Additionally, he founded the organization "Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia". Moreover, |
In 2009, he filed a lawsuit against the Interior Ministry to release the reform activist Abdul Rahman Al Shumari. Additionally, he founded the organization "Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia". Moreover, Abulkhair participated in the Alliance of Youth Movements (AYM) summit in ]. While in ], Abulkhair became a Certified Trainer on Human Rights by the Human Rights Information & Training Center (HRITC). Later in that year, he and other youth activists launched a campaign called "Jeddah Save" after the city faced a devastating flood, where they sat up a ] page that has been used as a key platform to manage and organize Jeddah saving efforts and actions.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url= http://main.islammessage.com/newspage.aspx?id=310 |title=ارتفاع عدد وفيات سيول جدة إلى 106 |trans_title=Number of deaths in Jeddah to 106 |work=The Message of Islam |year=2009 |accessdate=4 October 2013}} {{ar icon}}</ref> | ||
| == International representation == | == International representation == | ||
| In 2010, |
In 2010, Abulkhair started to build his international reputation as a credible and reliable source to represent Saudi Arabia internationally in human rights causes. He participated in two meetings arranged by Netherlands-based organization "Bridging The Gulf", one in the ] about the human rights situation in the Gulf states, the other in ] about human rights activists in the ] countries. Moreover, he attended a conference that was organised by ] (HRW) in ]. While in Bahrain, Abulkhair was invited by ] to a meeting to discuss issues related to Human Rights in the GCC countries with major European diplomats. Additionally, he attended a workshop in monitoring and documentation of human rights violations, conducted by Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) and the Scandinavian Institute For Human Rights. | ||
| Locally, and in the same year, Abulkhair was appointed by the British Embassy as the dedicated lawyer for a British prisoner.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> | Locally, and in the same year, Abulkhair was appointed by the British Embassy as the dedicated lawyer for a British prisoner.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> | ||
| Line 51: | Line 50: | ||
| == Samar Badawi case == | == Samar Badawi case == | ||
| ] is a Saudi woman who was in prison for disobedience under the Saudi Arabian male guardianship system, |
] is a Saudi woman who was in prison for disobedience under the Saudi Arabian male guardianship system, Abulkhair was her lawyer and defended her in court in addition to initiating an online campaign that created a huge awareness about her case within the Saudi society using different social channels such as Twitter, Facebook and a dedicated ] that was publishing all the documents and updates related to the case. The Free Samar Campaign is considered the first Saudi Twitter campaign that made an effect on reality. Within a few days, it became a public story, and was covered massively by local media. Three weeks later, Badawi was released and Abulkhair won what is called the most important case of women. Later Badawi and Abulkhair were married.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> | ||
| == Society movements == | == Society movements == | ||
| Abulkhair had a role in several Saudi social movements in 2011. He wrote several petitions demanding civil and political rights, the latest one demanding the right of women to drive. In a judicial precedent, Abulkhair filed a lawsuit against the ban on women's participation in municipal elections. He also launched a campaign for municipal elections with other youth activists, the result was the winning of their candidate. In that year, ] Middle East named him as one of the top 100 Arab activists on Twitter with more than 40,000 followers.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/details.php?list=13&row=446 |title=Top 100 Most Followed Arabs on Twitter |work=Forbes Middle East |year=2013 |accessdate=4 October 2013}} {{ar icon}}</ref> | |||
| == International recognition == | == International recognition == | ||
| In 2012, |
In 2012, Abulkhair was selected by the U.S. Department of State as a finalist in the ] Partnership Initiative’s Leaders for Democracy Fellowship program.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/saudi-arabian-human-rights-lawyer-banned-travelling-us-2012-03-27 |title=Saudi Arabian human rights lawyer banned from travelling to US |work=Amnesty International |date=27 March 2012 |accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> Additionally, he joined the Irish ] Foundation for the protection of human rights defenders.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151306924047522&set=o.40258229626&type=3&theater |title=Photos of مرصد حقوق الإنسان في السعودية : Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi (MHRSA) |work=Facebook |year=2013 |accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> Abulkhair was also listed by ] as one of the top 40 Arabs and the top 10 Saudis on Twitter with more than 53,000 followers. He and Tunisian lawyer ] shared the 2012 Swedish ].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/328 |title=Saudi Arabia / Sweden - Human Rights Defender Waleed Sami Abulkhair Awarded the 2012 Olof Palme Prize |work=Gulf Centre for Human Rights |date=26 January 2013 |accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> Because of a travel ban, he could not receive the prize himself, so two members of MHRSA went and collected the prize on his behalf, his wife Samar Badawi and Fahad Al Fahad. Abulkhair then registered his organisation Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA) in ] as an independent human rights organisation, following the refusal of the Saudi authorities to allow the organisation to be registered in the kingdom. MHRSA is now considered the first Saudi human rights organization registered outside Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/29/saudi-arabia-rights-groups-blocked-operating |title=Saudi Arabia: Rights Groups Blocked From Operating |work=Human Rights Watch |date=29 August 2013 |accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> | ||
| == Smood, the weekly saloon == | == Smood, the weekly saloon == | ||
| As a reaction to the Saudi authorities decision to shut down "Bridges Café" in ], which was a meeting point for Saudi youth to talk and discuss several topics, |
As a reaction to the Saudi authorities decision to shut down "Bridges Café" in ], which was a meeting point for Saudi youth to talk and discuss several topics, Abulkhair started a weekly gathering in his saloon, hosting a few dozen of people, most of them politically engaged Saudi youth from different backgrounds, topics focuses on political, religious and human rights issues, in addition to cultural and intellectual subjects. The saloon is named “Smood,” an Arabic word that can be translated as “resistance” or “steadfastness.” | ||
| Smood was attacked heavily by many conservatives on the social media and on TV. It has been claimed that the saloon is encouraging atheism and skepticism, especially after ]’s case knowing that he was a personal friend of |
Smood was attacked heavily by many conservatives on the social media and on TV. It has been claimed that the saloon is encouraging atheism and skepticism, especially after ]’s case knowing that he was a personal friend of Abulkhair and many other regular visitors of this saloon. One day, few conservatives visited Smood and secretly recorded the discussion without the attendees permission, on the next day, they tweeted negatively about the topics discussed and the type of people attending Smood. Moreover, they have contacted a TV show and requested from the government and the ] to take a serious actions toward such meetings. Abulkhair defended his saloon by saying that he is offering the freedom of speech, the freedom of belief and the freedom of expression, which are things that cannot be provided outside the door of his house.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://world.time.com/2012/07/12/in-saudi-arabia-dissent-is-alive-and-well-but-only-online-or-in-private/ |title=In Saudi Arabia, Activists Speak Out Online and in Private |first=Jacob |last=Templin |work=TIME.com |date=12 July 2012 |accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qg_pMcuwUs |title= وليد ابوالخير و ديوانيه الصمود ديوانيه الألحاد والكفر |work=YouTube |date=6 March 2012 |accessdate=4 October 2013}} {{ar icon}}</ref> | ||
| == His Trial == | == His Trial == | ||
| Line 91: | Line 90: | ||
| == External links == | == External links == | ||
| * by Waleed Abulkhair, published by ]. | * by Waleed Abulkhair, published by ]. | ||
| * by Abdulmajeed al-Buluwi, published by ]. | |||
| * by Eman al-Nafjan, published by ]. | * by Eman al-Nafjan, published by ]. | ||
| * by Eman al-Nafjan, published by ]. | * by Eman al-Nafjan, published by ]. | ||
| Line 100: | Line 100: | ||
| {{Persondata | {{Persondata | ||
| | NAME = |
| NAME = Abulkhair, Waleed Sami | ||
| | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | ||
| | SHORT DESCRIPTION = Saudi lawyer and human rights activist | | SHORT DESCRIPTION = Saudi lawyer and human rights activist | ||
| Line 108: | Line 108: | ||
| | PLACE OF DEATH = | | PLACE OF DEATH = | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| {{DEFAULTSORT: |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abulkhair, Waleed Sami}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 23:58, 18 June 2014
| Waleed Abulkhair | |
|---|---|
 Waleed Abulkhair in November 2012 | |
| Born | (1979-06-17) 17 June 1979 (age 45) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer and human rights activist |
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Spouse | Samar Badawi |
Waleed Sami Abu Abulkhair (Template:Lang-ar) is a Saudi Arabian lawyer and human rights activist, and the head of the "Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia" (MHRSA) organization. He was listed by Forbes magazine as one of Top 100 Most Influential Arabs on Twitter.
Early life and education
Abulkhair was born on 17 June 1979, in the coastal city of Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia. He received his bachelor degree in Arabic language from King Abdul Aziz University in 2003. Abulkhair began his career as a lawyer in 2007, when he joined Essam Basrawi's office for law firm and legal consultations. Then he moved to Jordan where he studied for his master's degree in Islamic Law (jurisprudence and its origins) at Yarmouk University, graduating in 2009, the topic of his thesis being Connection and Disconnection In Presumptions, Causes and Judgments supervised by Dr. Abdul Jalil Zauhair Damra. In the same year, after graduation, Abulkhair established his own human rights organization (MHRSA) which he managed to register in Canada in 2012 to became the first registered Saudi human rights organization.
Beginning of activities
In 2007, Abulkhair and other activists released a reform petition titled Parameters of the Constitutional Monarchy in which they have requested from the Saudi royal family to change to current ruling regime (absolute monarchy) into a democratic system to insure the participation of the people through free elections. One year later, he organised a hunger strike for prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia for 48 hours, as the first hunger strike campaign in Saudi Arabia in a human rights case.
Prominence in the community
In 2009, he filed a lawsuit against the Interior Ministry to release the reform activist Abdul Rahman Al Shumari. Additionally, he founded the organization "Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia". Moreover, Abulkhair participated in the Alliance of Youth Movements (AYM) summit in Mexico. While in Yemen, Abulkhair became a Certified Trainer on Human Rights by the Human Rights Information & Training Center (HRITC). Later in that year, he and other youth activists launched a campaign called "Jeddah Save" after the city faced a devastating flood, where they sat up a Facebook page that has been used as a key platform to manage and organize Jeddah saving efforts and actions.
International representation
In 2010, Abulkhair started to build his international reputation as a credible and reliable source to represent Saudi Arabia internationally in human rights causes. He participated in two meetings arranged by Netherlands-based organization "Bridging The Gulf", one in the European Parliament about the human rights situation in the Gulf states, the other in Kuwait about human rights activists in the GCC countries. Moreover, he attended a conference that was organised by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Bahrain. While in Bahrain, Abulkhair was invited by Front Line Defenders to a meeting to discuss issues related to Human Rights in the GCC countries with major European diplomats. Additionally, he attended a workshop in monitoring and documentation of human rights violations, conducted by Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) and the Scandinavian Institute For Human Rights.
Locally, and in the same year, Abulkhair was appointed by the British Embassy as the dedicated lawyer for a British prisoner.
Samar Badawi case
Samar Badawi is a Saudi woman who was in prison for disobedience under the Saudi Arabian male guardianship system, Abulkhair was her lawyer and defended her in court in addition to initiating an online campaign that created a huge awareness about her case within the Saudi society using different social channels such as Twitter, Facebook and a dedicated blog that was publishing all the documents and updates related to the case. The Free Samar Campaign is considered the first Saudi Twitter campaign that made an effect on reality. Within a few days, it became a public story, and was covered massively by local media. Three weeks later, Badawi was released and Abulkhair won what is called the most important case of women. Later Badawi and Abulkhair were married.
Society movements
Abulkhair had a role in several Saudi social movements in 2011. He wrote several petitions demanding civil and political rights, the latest one demanding the right of women to drive. In a judicial precedent, Abulkhair filed a lawsuit against the ban on women's participation in municipal elections. He also launched a campaign for municipal elections with other youth activists, the result was the winning of their candidate. In that year, Forbes Middle East named him as one of the top 100 Arab activists on Twitter with more than 40,000 followers.
International recognition
In 2012, Abulkhair was selected by the U.S. Department of State as a finalist in the Middle East Partnership Initiative’s Leaders for Democracy Fellowship program. Additionally, he joined the Irish Front Line Defenders Foundation for the protection of human rights defenders. Abulkhair was also listed by Portland Communications as one of the top 40 Arabs and the top 10 Saudis on Twitter with more than 53,000 followers. He and Tunisian lawyer Radhia Nasraoui shared the 2012 Swedish Olof Palme Prize. Because of a travel ban, he could not receive the prize himself, so two members of MHRSA went and collected the prize on his behalf, his wife Samar Badawi and Fahad Al Fahad. Abulkhair then registered his organisation Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA) in Canada as an independent human rights organisation, following the refusal of the Saudi authorities to allow the organisation to be registered in the kingdom. MHRSA is now considered the first Saudi human rights organization registered outside Saudi Arabia.
Smood, the weekly saloon
As a reaction to the Saudi authorities decision to shut down "Bridges Café" in Jeddah, which was a meeting point for Saudi youth to talk and discuss several topics, Abulkhair started a weekly gathering in his saloon, hosting a few dozen of people, most of them politically engaged Saudi youth from different backgrounds, topics focuses on political, religious and human rights issues, in addition to cultural and intellectual subjects. The saloon is named “Smood,” an Arabic word that can be translated as “resistance” or “steadfastness.”
Smood was attacked heavily by many conservatives on the social media and on TV. It has been claimed that the saloon is encouraging atheism and skepticism, especially after Hamza Kashgari’s case knowing that he was a personal friend of Abulkhair and many other regular visitors of this saloon. One day, few conservatives visited Smood and secretly recorded the discussion without the attendees permission, on the next day, they tweeted negatively about the topics discussed and the type of people attending Smood. Moreover, they have contacted a TV show and requested from the government and the religious police to take a serious actions toward such meetings. Abulkhair defended his saloon by saying that he is offering the freedom of speech, the freedom of belief and the freedom of expression, which are things that cannot be provided outside the door of his house.
His Trial
Abulkhair was facing two trials. On February 4, 2014, the Court of Appeals in Mekkah, approved a 3-month sentence for charges of contempt of the judiciary against Abulkhair. However, Waleed remained free.
On April 15 2014, Walled got arrested in the Specialized Criminal Court when he was attending the fifth session of the trial. His family did not receive any news about him until the next day, when his wife went to the court and was told that he had been arrested and sent to Al-Ha'ir Prison. His wife then visited Al-Ha'ir Prison and was denied speaking to him.
The second trial of Abulkhair started on November 4, 2013 and the charges included beaking allegiance to the ruler, disrespecting the authorities, creating an unauthorized association and supervising it (MHRSA), contributing to the establishment of another (ACPRA) and inciting the public opinion. These charges had already been considered in Jeddah Court at the first trial which issued his 3-month sentence.
On 22 April 2014, one week after his arrest, his wife said that he was under "torture for political purposes."
Publications
- Our steadfast pursuit of a freer Saudi Arabia, Washington Post, April 2012.
- Saudis Stymied by Fear, Institute for War & Peace Reporting, July 2011.
Additionally, Abulkhairhas published over 300 articles in Saudi newspapers concerning legal reforms and human rights issues.
Media
Several major international journalists have interviewed Abulkhair, including Kevin Sullivan of the Washington Post, Pierre Prier of the Le Figaro, Frank Gardner of the BBC, Jacob Templin of the TIME Magazine, and Bitte Hammargren of Svenska Dagbladet. Moreover, several media were interested about Abulkhair's activities such as CNN, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, Al Hiwar, Financial Times and many others.
See also
External links
- Saudi Arabia is stifling dissent in the name of counter-terrorism by Waleed Abulkhair, published by MSNBC.
- Saudi anti-terrorism law casts wide net by Abdulmajeed al-Buluwi, published by Al-Monitor.
- Saudi activists 'hibernate' after series of arrests by Eman al-Nafjan, published by Al-Monitor.
- Saudi Arabia’s Duplicitous Legalism by Eman al-Nafjan, published by The New York Times.
References
- ar:وليد أبوالخير
- ^ "ارتفاع عدد وفيات سيول جدة إلى 106". The Message of Islam. 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) Template:Ar icon - "Top 100 Most Followed Arabs on Twitter". Forbes Middle East. 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013. Template:Ar icon
- "Saudi Arabian human rights lawyer banned from travelling to US". Amnesty International. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- "Photos of مرصد حقوق الإنسان في السعودية : Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi (MHRSA)". Facebook. 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- "Saudi Arabia / Sweden - Human Rights Defender Waleed Sami Abulkhair Awarded the 2012 Olof Palme Prize". Gulf Centre for Human Rights. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- "Saudi Arabia: Rights Groups Blocked From Operating". Human Rights Watch. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- Templin, Jacob (12 July 2012). "In Saudi Arabia, Activists Speak Out Online and in Private". TIME.com. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- "وليد ابوالخير و ديوانيه الصمود ديوانيه الألحاد والكفر". YouTube. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2013. Template:Ar icon
- ^ "Saudi Arabia: Free Prominent Rights Activist". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
- Template:Ar icon ""أكثر السعوديات شجاعة" تدافع عن زوجها المعتقل". BBC. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
- "Our steadfast pursuit of a freer Saudi Arabia". Washington Post. April 20, 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- "Saudis Stymied by Fear". Institute for War & Peace Reporting. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- http://www.svd.se/nyheter/utrikes/palmepristagaren-later-sig-inte-kuvas_3376924.svd