Abdullah Pardons Saudi Reformers
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh & P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 9 August 2005 — In a day of dramatic developments and in a show of magnanimity, King Abdullah just seven days into his reign, pardoned three jailed high-profile reformists and a group of Libyans who had plotted to assassinate him.
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has issued an order to pardon and release the following prisoners: Abdullah Al-Hamid, Matrouk Al-Faleh, Ali Al-Damini and Saeed ibn Zaeer, who are serving jail sentences, as well as Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, whose case is still in the court,†Interior Minister Prince Naif said, and praised the king’s kind gesture.
King Abdullah is signalling reform more promptly than I’d guessed. I expected the reformers to be pardoned at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, when many prisoners receive them. That it’s coming only seven days since he became king strongly suggests that he is intent on pushing reform. [UPDATE: I failed to point out that his forcing the case against other reformers to be dropped--offering pardons before the case is finally decided--is even more of a signal about what he intends. This bodes very well.]
We need to watch closely what happens next. I anticipate action on women’s rights, whether in a flat declaration that they will take part in the next municipal elections, that they be appointed to the Shoura Council, or that new doors be opened to them in employment. Their driving is still too divisive an issue, I think, because it has become so public.
The King also pardoned five Libyans who had been convicted of attempting his assassination earlier this year. The news report is not clear if the eight Saudis involved were also freed. This is being seen as a sign that the King wants good diplomatic relations across the Arab world, even with Libya, which has been problematic for the kingdom for decades.
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August:08:2005 - 20:02
[...] Abdullah also pardoned several Libyans accused of plotting an assassination attempt against him. John Burgess, the resident blogosphere expert on Saudi Arabia, is very surprised at the pace in which these pardons came. He discusses both the pardons of the reformers and of the assassination plotters. King Abdullah is signalling reform more promptly than I’d guessed. I expected the reformers to be pardoned at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, when many prisoners receive them. That it’s coming only seven days since he became king strongly suggests that he is intent on pushing reform. [...]
August:08:2005 - 20:02
Interestingly, King A. chose not to show his hand re the reformers before he had the top job officiall. That suggests to me that there is considerable opposition at the top to ‘reform’.
August:08:2005 - 20:02
Getting the Middle East Perspective
John (Crossroads Arabia), an American on the ground so to speak, living and blogging from Saudi Arabia writes: King Abdullah is signalling reform more promptly than I’d guessed. I expected the reformers to be pardoned at the beginning of the…
August:08:2005 - 20:02
Who has he pardoned that we don’t know about?
August:08:2005 - 20:02
King Abdullah On A Reformist Agenda?
Crossroads Arabia notes that the new King Abdullah is pardoning jailed reformists and people who plotted to kill him–and has some other predictions….
August:08:2005 - 20:02
SAudi Arabia Cranking Up Reform?
John at Crossroads Arabia, our resident Saudi expert, notes the pardon of several reformers by Saudi Arabia’s new king. “That it’s coming only seven days since he became king strongly suggests that he is intent on pushing reform. ”…
August:08:2005 - 20:02
This is wonderful news for the Kingdom. I am curious to how the Saudis are taking this news?
August:08:2005 - 20:02
John, seems to me we need to wait a year or so and look back to see what’s actually been happening. Positive early signs, perhaps, but what will King Abdullah do over time?
I would hope he eventually does something about the extremely negative influence of Wahhabism. It’s one of the most dangerous influences underlying terrorism, both inside and outside the Kingdom. Can the Family ever succeed in taming it, or do they even want to?
August:08:2005 - 20:02
Solomon: According to today’s Washington Post,
It seems that he’s signalling that he’s not going to put people in jail merely for what they say. We’ll need to wait to see how that works out with those who support terror. Abdullah has been absolutely condemnatory of terror, so this may be giving Zaeer a chance to clean up his act.
D. Stevens: Until last week, Abdullah was not king. As regent, his powers were limited by what other senior princes–and outsiders–thought. Now he’s the leader and it seems he’s prepared to lead.
August:08:2005 - 20:02
Tales of Interest! Brazilian Bikini Waxing Edition
Here’s some interesting stuff sent to me this morning. New intelligence indicates that Osama bin Laden may be headed to Iraq for Ramadan. I’m not buying it, but if it was true think of all the great caption-contest opportunities. Brazil…
August:08:2005 - 20:02
The Saudis have excellent spin doctors. To me, that actually damages their credibility. We’ll see how things look a couple of weeks from now.
FYI, The Religious Policeman has returned.
August:08:2005 - 20:02
[...] That’s the hope, anyway. [...]
August:08:2005 - 20:02
He also pardoned some unsavory characters as well… this is all just for show.
August:08:2005 - 20:02
I actually had to read that twice. A very noble gesture to say the least. Rather than analyze why it didn’t happen before, consider his unusual speedy move a step in the right direction.
As for women’s rights, putting all the spotlight on what Kuwait has achieved is not seeing the whole picture, or a fair comparison.
Keeping in mind what we American women endured in history to receive our rights (torture in some cases) let us put the women’s empowerment issues where they belong: on the women.
Despite media blitz on the National Assembly in Kuwait to protest for their rights, in actuality only 400 women showed up. Perhaps the West should listen to the actual women speaking as a whole. The mere numbers showed indifference.
Women over here have a “quiet” power, not seen in public, and are quite able to speak for themselves. The public persona is completely different. Women’s empowerment will come in it’s own time based on the collective views of society, as it should be.
In the M.E. there is more of a sense of “We” rather than “I” and this is positive in terms of social evolution for a society who still maintains family as priority.
August:08:2005 - 20:02
Ariya: You’re welcome to your opinions, of course. He released a religious extremist. Let’s see what comes from that guy before we characterize the pardons as “just for show.”
The “show” so far is that he released the reformers and interrupted the trial of their lawyer to make his point.
August:08:2005 - 20:02
Saudi reforms gather pace
It’s only seven days into King Abdullah’s reign, but if things like this become the norm, then his reign bodes well not only for Saudi, but for the whole region
August:08:2005 - 20:02
I haven’t read this man’s name Abdullah Hamid name for a long time and it never stuck in my mind. But last night I had a dream I was looking for him. I drove to see him. He had become a prince or sheik (rich). He drove a blue car. Anyways, his guard said he was tired, but I could see him tomorrow. The good thing in the dream is I drove myself to see him and drove myself home after going to see him while in Saudi. How is jr doing? Anyone know what he is up to.