For the first time, official reports reveal the horror of torture in Saudi prisons.
The British newspaper, The Guardian, revealed that leaked medical reports on the health conditions of prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia revealed that they had been subjected to torture.
The newspaper stated that these medical reports represent the first acknowledgment from the Royal Court of the mistreatment of prisoners of conscience, despite official public denials.
The reports included examinations conducted on approximately 60 detainees at the request of the Saudi King following increasing pressure on Riyadh over the treatment of prisoners of conscience, particularly after the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The medical reports concluded that the prisoners were suffering from bruises, burns, wounds, and severe weight loss. The newspaper presented details that illustrate the severity of their suffering.
The newspaper revealed that some prisoners were unable to move at all due to leg wounds and severe emaciation resulting from malnutrition and dehydration.
It also reported that some were suffering from severe weight loss and constantly vomiting blood, and that wounds were widespread on their bodies, including old wounds that had not healed due to medical neglect.
The newspaper confirmed that the Saudi royal court ignored the objections of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s aides to the medical examinations after the Saudi king demanded a review of the decisions to arrest approximately 200 men and women during the campaign led by his crown prince.
The newspaper reported that the medical reports were accompanied by recommendations calling for the release of detainees suffering from difficult health conditions and demanding that some of them be transferred from solitary confinement to medical facilities. It noted that everything contained in the reports confirms what human rights organizations and detainees’ relatives have said regarding solitary confinement, torture by electrocution and flogging, sexual harassment, and malnutrition.
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