On February 23, Alkarama sent a communication to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asking it to intervene in the case of Saad b. Ali b. Saad Abu Nayan, aged 29, a law student and resident of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

He was arrested by the Saudi information services (Al Al Mabahit Aama) on 2 February 2004 at Mina near Mecca during the annual pilgrimage without a judicial warrant and without being notified of the reasons for his arrest.

He was held incommunicado for a week in the Jeddah Al Rouis detention centre, then transferred to Alicha prison near Riyadh, where he remained for a year and a half before being transferred again on 27 September 2005 to Al Khardj prison.

Mr Saad Abu Nayan was the subject of ill-treatment in both Al Alicha and Al Khardj prisons.  A general protest was held in December 2006 in Al Khardj prison by inmates who sought to be brought before a court. He was then transferred to the prison of Al Hayr, where he remains.

Since his arrest, his family has taken steps to find out where he is being held and why he was arrested. They were only allowed to visit him after several months.

Mr Abu Nayan was never brought before a magistrate, and following a summary investigation he was told by the information officer that he had not done anything wrong; and in fact, no charges have been laid against him.

Because of this, he cannot legally challenge the validity of his detention. Despite repeated requests made to the penitentiary administration, no lawyer has been assigned to assist him.

His father has written four times to the Saudi National Institution for Human Rights, asking them to intervene, but he has never received a reply.

Mr Abu Nayan has clearly been deprived of his liberty in an arbitrary manner, since his current detention is in fact contrary to Saudi law as well as the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Alkarama requests that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention intervene with the Saudi authorities. They must take the necessary steps to remedy this situation and bring it into conformity with the norms and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by immediately releasing Mr Abu Nayan.

Alkarama also recalls the lack of reaction from the country's authorities to the opinions announced by the United Nations; this is in spite of their claims and statements about their willingness to cooperate with UN human rights protection mechanisms.