Political detainee sues Saudi government

More than three years after he was arrested on vague allegations, Saudi political detainee Suliman al-Reshoudi who has yet to be tried or even charged with a crime is now taking on the system.
Although his situation is not unusual for political prisoners in Saudi Arabia, the former judge is suing the security police and interior ministry to either charge him or release him.
It is a remarkable challenge and the first case of its kind in the kingdom.
The lawsuit, filed by activists on his behalf and led by a lawyer who cannot meet his client, is based on a little-tested legal code that offers protection to detainees for the first time.
It did not exist when Reshoudi was jailed along with dozens of others for pro-reform activities, but now has become a test of the Saudi government's avowal to improve its judicial system and boost human rights.
"We are defending Reshoudi as a model for others in prison," said Mohammed al-Qahtani, a member of the small Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) which has organised his defence.
In six hearings since December, the interior ministry that has historically exercised a strong influence over the justice system has failed to have the suit thrown out.
Reshoudi's lawyer, Abdulaziz al-Wahabi, sees that as a measure of success even if his client remains in jail without charge.
Moreover, despite what one supporter called a "menacing heavy police presence" at the last hearing, the judge allowed Saudi human rights observers to attend.
"This is the first case of people publicly challenging the interior ministry in their own courts," said Qahtani, an economist in a government think-tank.