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'{{short description|Secret police}} {{Infobox government agency |agency_name = General Investigation Directorate (Mabahith) |motto = ''A homeland we don't protect, we don't deserve to live in'' |seal = Seal of the Mabahith.svg |seal_width = 150px |seal_caption = Seal of the Mabahith |picture = |picture_width = |picture_caption = |logo = Flag of the Mabahith.svg{{!}}border |logo_width = 200px |logo_caption = Flag of the Mabahith |formed = {{Start date and years ago|1924|10|14}} as General Directorate of Public Security |superseding = |jurisdiction = [[Government of Saudi Arabia]] |headquarters = [[Riyadh]], [[Saudi Arabia]] |employees = |budget = |minister2_name = |minister2_pfo = |chief1_name = [[General officer]] [[AbdulAziz bin Mohammed Al-Howairini]] |chief1_position = Director |chief2_name = [[Lieutenant general|Lt. Gen.]] [[Abdullah al-Qarni]] |chief2_position = Deputy Director |parent_agency = [[Presidency of State Security]] |website = |chief3_name=|chief3_position=|chief4_name=|chief4_position=|chief5_name=|chief5_position=|chief6_name=|chief6_position=|chief7_name=|chief7_position=|chief8_name=|chief8_position=|chief9_name=|chief9_position=|parent_department=}} The '''Mabahith''' ({{lang-ar|المباحث العامة}}, {{transl|ar|DIN|''al-Mabāḥiṯ al-ʿĀmmah''}}, '''General Investigation Directorate'''), also spelled ''Mabaheth'', is the [[secret police]] agency of the [[Presidency of State Security]] in [[Saudi Arabia]], and deals with domestic security and counter-intelligence. The officers of the Mabahith have delegated powers to investigate, survey, and detain individuals who are deemed to be "threats to national security".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/saudiarabia0809web.pdf|title=|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> The Mabahith has conducted a wide variety of security operations that have led to the arrest of high profile terrorists, opposition members, and human rights activists. Officially, the Mabahith are to turn over arrested individuals to the Saudi courts for sentencing. Yet, there have been many documented instances in which the Mabahith have tortured detainees and held them without a court appearance. The Mabahith have been used by the government of Saudi Arabia to monitor political opposition and individuals they deem to be "threatening to Saudi society." The organization has been criticized by the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch for abuse of power and the violation of human rights.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/|title=Saudi Arabia 2018|website=www.amnesty.org|language=en|access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref> ==Role== According to [[Human Rights Watch]], the Mabahith "monitors suspected political opponents and others, targets individuals for arrest, and interrogates detainees. Mabahith agents operate with impunity and have been responsible for a wide range of human rights abuses, including [[arbitrary arrest and detention|arbitrary arrest]], incommunicado detention, and [[torture]]"<ref name="HRW_Mabahith_defn" /> including [[waterboarding]], [[denailing]], [[flagellation]] and [[Strike (attack)|beatings]], amongst other forms of severe abuse. Members of the Mabahith were allegedly responsible for the torture of Western detainees arrested during a car bombing campaign which started in 2000. Two members in particular, [[Khalid al-Saleh]] and [[Ibrahim al-Dali]], were named by [[William Sampson (author)|William Sampson]] in his court action against the Saudi government.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} Sampson and others lost their case in the [[UK High Court]] when the Saudis used the [[State Immunity Act 1978]] as their defence. ==Prisons== ===Al-Ha'ir Prison=== [[Al-Haa'ir Prison]] is a Mabahith-affiliated prison.<ref name="ANHRI_19aug2012alHair" /> The Mabahith have conducted classified interviews as well as interrogations of high profile Al-Qaeda members being held in the prison. ===ʽUlaysha Prison=== Mabahith runs the [[ʽUlaysha Prison]] in [[Riyadh]],<ref name="HRW_Mabahith_Umma" /> where it holds prisoners under [[arbitrary arrest and detention|arbitrary detention]]. The [[United Nations]] [[Working Group on Arbitrary Detention]] has objected to arbitrary detention at Mabahith's prison.<ref name="UNWorkGroup_Qaid2007" /><ref name="UNWorkGroup_Samara2008" /> {{As of|2011|06}}, arbitrarily detained prisoners apparently include five founding members of a would-be political party, the [[Umma Islamic Party]],<ref name="HRW_Mabahith_Umma" /> and [[Khaled al-Johani]], who publicly protested in [[Riyadh]] on the 11 March "Day of Rage" during the [[2011 Saudi Arabian protests]].<ref name="AOL_alJohani" /><ref name="HRW_alJohani" /> Political prisoners living in exile have testified that Mabahith agents used illegal interrogation methods and tortured political dissidents who were being held arbitrarily in the prison. ===Dhahban Central Prison=== [[Dhahban Central Prison]] is used for arbitrary detention. According to the [[Human Rights Watch]] report, women activists – who have been detained since May 2018 – were taken to Dhahban and tortured in a room called an “officer’s guesthouse”. Reportedly, the men who tortured these women were from “cyber security” – a reference to officers working under [[Saud al-Qahtani]], who was fired for his involvement in the [[Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi|killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/06/saudi-arabia-allow-access-detained-women-activists|title=Saudi Arabia: Allow Access to Detained Women Activists|publisher=Human Rights Watch|accessdate=6 December 2018}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah]] – Saudi Arabian external security agency * [[Presidency of State Security]] ==References== {{reflist|refs= <ref name="HRW_Mabahith_defn">[https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/saudi/ Human Rights in Saudi Arabia: A Deafening Silence (Human Rights Watch Backgrounder, December 2001)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> <ref name="ANHRI_19aug2012alHair">{{cite web|title=Saudi Arabia: Dispensing a Peaceful Demonstration after Assaulting Prisoner's Wife and Four of Her Children due to A video Segment |publisher=[[Arabic Network for Human Rights Information|ANHRI]] |date=2012-08-28 |url=http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=9263 |accessdate=2012-08-31 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6AKkKR5Tb?url=http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=9263 |archivedate=2012-08-31 |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name="HRW_Mabahith_Umma">{{cite web|last=Wilcke |first=Christopher |title=Secret Police Crackdown on Founders of First Political Party |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=2011-02-19 |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/19/saudi-arabia-free-political-activists |accessdate=2011-06-09 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5zJzUetCF?url=http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/19/saudi-arabia-free-political-activists |archivedate=2011-06-09 |url-status=live }} </ref> <ref name="UNWorkGroup_Qaid2007">{{cite web|title=Saudi Arabia: Opinion on the arbitrary detention of Mr. Faiz bin Abdelmohsen Al Qaid|publisher=[[Alkarama|Alkarama for Human Rights]]|date=2007-07-02|url=http://www.alkarama.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34:saudi-arabia-opinion-on-the-arbitrary-detention-of-mr-faiz-bin-abdelmohsen-al-qaid&catid=33:communiqu&Itemid=180|accessdate=2011-06-09|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5zK6sdhCP?url=http://www.alkarama.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34:saudi-arabia-opinion-on-the-arbitrary-detention-of-mr-faiz-bin-abdelmohsen-al-qaid&catid=33:communiqu&Itemid=180|archivedate=2011-06-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> <ref name="UNWorkGroup_Samara2008">{{cite web|title=Saudi Arabia: The Working Group of the United Nations describes the detention of Abdel Rahman Samara as arbitrary|publisher=[[Alkarama|Alkarama for Human Rights]]|date=2009-04-21|url=http://www.alkarama.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=222:saudi-arabia-the-working-group-of-the-united-nations-describes-the-detention-of-abdel-rahman-samara-as-arbitrary-&catid=33:communiqu&Itemid=180|accessdate=2011-06-09|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5zK6fz0Ob?url=http://www.alkarama.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=222:saudi-arabia-the-working-group-of-the-united-nations-describes-the-detention-of-abdel-rahman-samara-as-arbitrary-&catid=33:communiqu&Itemid=180|archivedate=2011-06-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> <ref name="AOL_alJohani">{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Kennedy |title=Imprisoned Father of Autistic Boy Called "the Bravest Man in Saudi Arabia" |date=2011-04-08 |publisher=[[AOL|AOL News]] |url=http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/08/khaled-al-johani-the-bravest-man-in-saudi-arabia |accessdate=2011-06-06 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5zFLXuDJL?url=http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/08/khaled-al-johani-the-bravest-man-in-saudi-arabia |archivedate=2011-06-06 |url-status=dead }} </ref> <ref name="HRW_alJohani">{{cite web|title=EU, US Leaders Should Publicly Condemn Human Rights Violations |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=2011-04-20 |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/20/saudi-arabia-dissident-writer-arrested |accessdate=2011-06-07 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5zGnVjbxy?url=http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/20/saudi-arabia-dissident-writer-arrested |archivedate=2011-06-07 |url-status=live }} </ref> }} ==External links== * [http://www.moi.gov.sa/wps/portal/investigationdepartment Official website] {{2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests}} {{Saudi Arabia topics}} {{Saudi security forces}} [[Category:Saudi intelligence agencies]] [[Category:2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests]] [[Category:Organizations of the Arab Spring]] [[Category:Secret police]]'