“Amnesty International's reference that this planned law will be used against what it describes as opposition rather than terrorists is wrong,” said Nawaf bin Abdul-Aziz in a statement carried on the official SPA news agency.
Amnesty International accused Saudi Arabia of planning a crackdown on public dissent with new anti-terror legislation that it said was a cover to stop further pro-democracy protests in the monarchy.
“There have been many terrorist actions before... which resulted in the death of dozens of people and the spread of terror,” the Ambassador said.
“Today, the eradicating of these (terror) cells is largely due to the efforts by the Saudi Security Forces. Despite that, the regional turmoil has provided a fertile ground for new threats,” he added.
The draft published by Amnesty gives wide-ranging powers to the Saudi Interior Minister to take action to protect internal security, without requiring judicial authorization or oversight.
Saudi Arabia boasts of its success in thwarting attacks by Al Qaeda which, in 2003, launched a violent campaign in the Kingdom that fizzled out in 2006. However, Riyadh fears Al Qaeda militants could use their base in Yemen to restart operations.
Source: Reuters; SPA; Khaleej Times
