Are there any secular human rights organizations in Saudi Arabia?
The notion of secularism is inconceivable here. Even organizations that defend liberal ideas (homosexuality) cannot exist outside the limits of Shari’a law [Islamic law]. A human rights organization that distanced itself from Islam would be rejected by society. Is the Saudi population at all concerned about human rights? No. For most Saudis, it is a notion imported from the West. Three years ago, no one here knew about the concept of human rights. Things are beginning to change since the creation of a national commission dedicated to such questions. Does the law of the land, based on Shari’a, respect individual liberties? The laws are valid but they are not applied. Ever since 2003, we have a penal code that says that a person cannot be detained more than five days without having access to a judge. But we have detainees in our prisons who have been there more than 5, 8, 10 years without meeting an attorney. Are there nevertheless some positive signs? For the last five years, women have
