Amnesty Says Saudi Terror Fight Plagued With Abuse

In this June 21, 2005 file photo, Saudi security forces patrol the scene where they killed two...

In this June 21, 2005 file photo, Saudi security forces patrol the scene where they killed two suspected terrorists on the outskirts of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is holding more than 3,000 people in secret detention and has used torture to extract confessions in its anti-terrorism crackdown since the Sept. 11 attacks, Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday, July 22, 2009

(AP Photo, File)

Amnesty Criticizes Saudi Arabia for Rights Abuses in Terror Fight

Saudi Arabia is holding more than 3,000 people in secret detention and has used torture to extract confessions in its anti-terrorism crackdown since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday.

The report criticized the international community for turning a blind eye to the kingdom's methods in its crackdown. Saudi Arabia has carried out a heavy wave of arrests against al-Qaida members in past years after the militant group carried out a string of attacks against expatriate residential compounds, oil facilities and government buildings.

"These unjust anti-terrorism measures have made an already dire human rights situation worse," said Malcolm Smart, head of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa program, in a press release.

Asked about the report, a Saudi Interior Ministry official, Abdulrahman Alhadlaq, said, "These are claims that have to be proven."

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"Our policies on human rights are very clear and the orders given are for prisoners to be treated with respect and according to international human rights principles," Alhadlaq said. "If anything happened, it would be an individual case and if it is brought to anybody's attention it will be dealt with."

The report came two weeks after the Saudi government said it had convicted 330 al-Qaida militants in the kingdom's first known terrorism trials for suspected members of the terror network.

One militant was sentenced to death, and the others were given jail terms, fines and travel bans in trials that were held in the utmost secrecy. Authorities said the defendants were accused of belonging to the "deviant group," a euphemism for al-Qaida, as well as a range of other terrorism-related charges.

Amnesty said more than 3,100 people are being held "in virtual secrecy" and others have been killed in uncertain circumstances.

Amnesty criticized the Saudis for carrying out "secret and summary trials" and for reportedly torturing detainees to extract confessions. They said torture methods include "severe beatings with sticks, punching, and suspension from the ceiling, use of electric shocks and sleep deprivation."