DUBAI, Nov 7: Three reformists on trial in Saudi Arabia have sent a letter to Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz complaining they were not getting a fair trial and proposing moves to make it open, according to a text released on Saturday.
In a seven-page letter to the kingdom's de facto ruler, Ali al-Demaini, Matruk al-Faleh and Abdullah al-Hamed listed a series of incidents which they said "provide evidence that the judges are not neutral and are siding with the stronger side, which is the state, against the helpless one, the individuals."
A copy of the letter, dated October 15, was faxed to AFP. Issam Basrawi, a member of the trio's defence team, said it had been made public only now in order to allow time for Crown Prince Abdullah to receive and read it.
The reformists accused one of the judges of physically forcing them to enter the courtroom and said the tribunal had arbitrarily used an exemption provided for by law to close the trial to the public, thus flouting the concept of justice itself.
They also charged that the judiciary was not independent, repeating one of the claims that landed them in jail in the first place.
The pro-democracy activists, whose trial was adjourned on October 4 after they refused to answer questions behind closed doors, called for the formation of a judicial committee to look into their grievances and for the judges to comply with both Islamic and international standards for political trials.
These state that trials should be open to the public, they said.
The three proposed arrangements to enable the trial to be held in public while taking into consideration the judges' objections to the large crowds seeking access to the courtroom.
The three, who went on trial in Riyadh on August 9, are charged with "issuing statements and collecting as many signatures as possible on petitions" calling for change in the conservative kingdom.
They are also accused of calling for the adoption of a constitutional monarchy and "using Western terminology" in demanding political reforms.
They also allegedly questioned a provision in the basic statute of government which says the king is head of the judiciary.-AFP