paraphrasing

Accused of crimes needs some protection to his rights because he is innocent until proven guilty. Without any minor doubt that the accused person will be in his weakest situation during accusation and interrogation.

Informing the Accused of Crime of his Right

the Saudi criminal system does not have any requirements to informing the Accused of Crime of his Rights. The Saudi criminal laws only require that the accused shall give his personal information to the investigator and sign the report that contains such information. The Saudi legislator should inform suspects about their rights to avoid self-incrimination. The accused of crimes is not always a criminal or the one who really commits the crime where a person is innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, investigators prior to interrogation should notify the accused that he has right to remain silent and anything he says will be used against him in court. Also, they should inform him that he has a right to an attorney and if he is indigent, the government is going to pay for his lawyer.

the defendant has the right to be aware of the offending charge. The right of the accused to see the case file is important because it informs the accused of the charge or counts against him or her prior to interrogation. Viewing the evidence against the accused is important because it helps in preparing an effective defense. Article 101 of the Law of Criminal Procedure requires the investigator inform the accused of the charge he or she is facing.

Rights During an Arrest

Article 33 of the Law of Criminal Procedure states:

Where the crime is in the process of commission, the criminal investigation officer shall arrest the suspect present at the scene of the crime where there is sufficient evidence for his implication. A record of that shall be made and the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution shall be immediately notified. In all cases, the person under arrest shall not be detained for more than 24 hours, except pursuant to a written order from the investigator.

No person shall be arrested, searched and detained or imprisoned except in cases provided by law.... And it is prohibited to harm the arrested, whether physically or mentally. Similarly, it is prohibited to subject anyone to torture or degrading treatment. In cases where there is no obvious violation of the law, no one shall be arrested or detained except by order of the competent authority. The police must hear the testimony of the accused immediately, and if the police find enough evidence to charge the individual, they must send the individual to an investigator, along with their report, within 24 hours. The Law of Criminal Procedure is keen to maintain the rights of the accused during arrest. Specifically, Article 36, provides:

(1) Detainees are to be treated well in order to preserve their dignity, and shall not be harmed physically or mentally, are entitled to know the reasons for their arrest, and have the right to make a call to any person of their choice to inform him of their arrest. (2) must inform the job of the suspended employee immediately after the investigator issued the constantly arrested. (3) When you interrogate a women and hearing her statement, and investigate her, shall be with presence of a male relative.

Under Article 22, the accused must have knowledge of the following when arrested or detained:

(1) The reasons for arrest or detention; (2) The right to assistance from a representative or attorney during interrogation and trial, and; (3) The right to call any person that he wants and inform him of his arrest or detention.

After it is determined that the accused has knowledge of these rights, a signature is taken, and if the accused declines to sign, the refusal to sign is recorded.

Rights During Interrogation

Thus, the Saudi Criminal Procedure Law consider imposed some obligations on investigators before and during interrogation to ensure a neutral investigation.

Article 34 of the Law of Criminal Procedure states that the investigator must interrogate the accused within 24 hours, after which, the suspect must either be put in custody or released.

When the accused is presented to the investigator for the first time, the investigator must write down all the personal information of the accused such as, name, age, address, inform the accused of the charges, and report any statement the defendant expresses about the accusation. The interrogator may not use any interrogation methods that would coerce the suspect. The suspect also may not be interrogated outside the location of the investigative authority, unless out of necessity as determined by the investigator. Interrogation is the most important procedure of the investigation. The system has concerned many of the guarantees, including the freedom to express his statement, and some of them including the defense during the investigation.

the accused has the right to adequately defend. He has right to present a defense against the charge, and know of the charges and evidence against him. These rights relate to an interest of The Basic System of Governance of Saudi Arabia, regarding the right of the accused to a defense. The state protects human rights according to Islamic sharia. The state provides the security for all its citizens and residents on its territory, and actions of a person shall not be restricted, nor should a person be detained or imprisoned except in accordance with the rules. Additionally, the accused has the right to seek the assistance of a lawyer or representative during trial and investigation stage.

The Accused Right to Have an Attorney:

The Saudi Criminal Law provides for the suspect a right to defend himself personally or by a representative or an attorney during the interrogation and trial stages. Furthermore, the investigator does not have a right to separate the suspect from his representative or lawyer. Article 84 of the criminal procedure law also provides strict protection to the accused and his lawyer where it illustrates, "the investigator may not seize any piece of paper or document that has been delivered by the accused to his representative or attorney in connection with the performance of the service entrusted to him, nor the correspondence exchanged between them in the case."

the defendant has the right to seek the assistance of an attorney or representative during the trial and investigation stage, because of the complexity of the procedural regulations The investigator must permit the suspect’s attorney or representative to attend the interrogation, and shall not separate the accused from their attorney or representative during the investigation. In addition, in the Qur’an Allah says “And my brother Aaron is more fluent than me in tongue, so send him with me as support, verifying me. Indeed, I fear that they will deny me.” [ Allah] said, "We will strengthen your arm through your brother and grant you both supremacy so they will not reach you. [It will be] through our signs; you and those who follow you will be the predominant."[footnoteRef:1] This section shows that the Islamic sharia and the Qur’an indicate that individual can get help from another in any situation. [1: Qur'an, Sura Al-Qasas, Ayat (verse) 34, 35. Translation from http://quran.com/28 ]

The investigators are prohibited from seizing, examining, or interfering with any communications between the suspect and his attorney.

Nonetheless, article 70 of the same law refers the control of the accused rights with respect to the right to lawyer to the hand of the investigator where it states that, "the representative or attorney shall not intervene in the investigation except with the permission of the investigator." While the Saudi criminal law gives the accused a right to use his own attorney during the stages of interrogation and trial, it does not afford a lawyer at all during interrogation if the suspect cannot afford one. It also does not offer a lawyer during the trial stage for those indigent suspects who are accused of non-serious crimes. In other words, the Saudi legislator offers a legal assistance to indigent suspects only in major crimes during the trial stage.

the Saudi criminal system does not afford an attorney for indigent suspects during interrogation. The Saudi legislator should afford a lawyer for indigent suspects during interrogation not only during trial because questioning is not less important than the trial stage, where it is even more important than the trial stage. Interrogation is the stage that collects evidence and get statements from the accused of crimes where he is vulnerable to self-incrimination. In addition, the Saudi legislator should alter article 70 of the Criminal Procedure law where it terminates the role of accused's attorney. It gives investigators absolute power to prevent the suspect's attorney from intervening in interrogation. The accused lawyer cannot intervene in questioning unless he gets permission from the investigator. Thus, there should be clarification to such investigator's permission to restrict his rule and avoid abusing of power.

Furthermore, article 139 of the Saudi Criminal Procedure Law states that the state will pay

attorneys expenses in felonies only, which means the state does not cover lawyers’ fees in

misdemeanors or any other type of crimes. The Saudi legislator should change this article

because there is no difference between the accused of felony and the accused of misdemeanor.

They may be both innocent and justice requires treating innocent people in the same manner.

Therefore, the indigent suspects should get attorneys to represent them during interrogation and before court regardless of the classification of crimes.

The accused right to remain silent:

the Saudi Arabia does not grant suspects a right to remain silent. if the accused refuses to answer questions, the investigator will write that down in the report and will send the accused to custody until he agrees to answer. The Saudi Criminal Procedure Law should expressly state that the investigator should notify the accused of his right to remain silent. It also should illustrate that the investigator shall not keep the suspect in custody if he declines to answer questions. Otherwise, the accused of crime will have to incriminate himself in order to avoid the investigator's detention order.

the accused maintains the right to remain silent, although the Law of Criminal Procedure does not contain an article explicitly stating that a suspect has the right to remain silent. However, this does not mean the defendant should answer the investigator’s questions or provide self-incriminating information. The accused still has the ability to remain silent, but under the Executive Regulations for the Law of Criminal Procedure, if the accused declines to answer questions or refuses to sign, the investigator should include such information in the record in addition to reasons why the accused declined to answer questions. However, the law does not prevent the investigator from making an order to put the suspect in custody if the investigator considers it necessary for the investigation. The interrogator may not use any interrogation methods that would coerce the suspect….”

The right to remain silent is a valuable right for the accused so that he does not incriminate himself or provide investigators with evidence that could eventually be used by the state in his prosecution.