Saudi rights activist jailed for 8 years: Amnesty

A Saudi court today sentenced a human rights activist to eight years in jail under the kingdom's "repressive counter-terrorism law", Amnesty International said.
Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, the only founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA) not to be behind bars, was tried in the Specialised Criminal Court, the London-based watchdog said.
He faced a number of different charges which included "communicating with foreign organisations and providing information to Amnesty International for use in two of its reports", the rights group said.
"After shutting ACPRA down three years ago, the authorities have prosecuted and jailed its founding members one by one in a merciless bid to suppress criticism of Saudi Arabia's appalling human rights record," said James Lynch, Amnesty's deputy Middle East and North Africa director.

"The authorities have once again proven that they are determined to conceal the truth about Saudi Arabia's dire human rights record. The authorities must urgently ensure his conviction is quashed and they should not detain him," he added.
Lynch urged the kingdom's international allies to "press the authorities to end this iron-fist clampdown on civil society".