MEPs have called on Saudi Arabia to respect the freedom
of religion and expression of all people living in the country.
The
European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs voted in favour of a report,
drafted by MEP Ana Maria Gomes, which calls for a progressive package
of reforms regarding the human rights and civil liberties of Saudi
citizens.
The report notes that the changing political and strategic
context of the Middle East and North Africa has necessitated a
reassessment of the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the EU.
The
call from the Committee has come just days after mutawa chief Sheikh
Abdul Latif al-Sheikh was quoted in a Saudi newspaper as saying that he
would "eliminate" religious extremists within his organisation's ranks
who are "advocates of sedition".
Currently in Saudi
Arabia, there is no freedom of belief or expression.
Sharia law forms
the basis of Saudi Arabia's legal system, and it allows no deviation
from Sunni Islam, treating blasphemy as apostasy – an offence usually
met with a death sentence.
To aggravate matters further and increase the
pressure on Saudis to adhere to the official government interpretation
of Islam, the deep connection between the royal family and the religious
establishment means that there is no separation between state and
religion.
In February last year, the Grand Mufti of
Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al al-Sheikh said it is "necessary
to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula", and in February
2012, Saudi King Abdullah ordered that Hamza Kashgari, a journalist who
had posted messages on Twitter in which he imagined himself in
conversation with the Prophet Mohammed, be arrested "for crossing red
lines and denigrating religious beliefs in God and His Prophet".
Kashgari spent nearly two years in jail, without trial.
In
their report, MEPs called for the Saudi state to "respect the public
worship of any faith and to foster moderation and tolerance of religious
diversity".
The report also calls for the abolishment of the death
penalty (currently used against people found guilty of crimes which
include drug offences, apostasy, sorcery and witchcraft), and for Saudi
Arabia to "respect the fundamental rights of Shias and other minorities,
including the right to full political participation".
The
Committee urged reforms that would help women be treated more equally
to men; deploring the fact that the legal system is "in the hands of
male judges of religious background" and calling on Saudi Arabia to "to
revoke the medieval male guardianship system, and to take further steps
aimed at lifting restrictions on women's rights".
The
report pulled up Saudi Arabia on its financial and political support
for religious and political groups internationally who reinforce
fundamentalist and obscurantist forces that undermine democratic
governance and the participation of women in public life.
It criticised
Saudi Arabia's support for Salafi rebellion movements, which undermine
governments in countries like Mali, and destabilise entire regions.
The European Parliament will vote on the report during its next plenary session in March.