Four Saudis held in a Khamis Mushayt prison have complained about a five-year delay in giving a verdict on a murder case involving them. The Saudi man and his three sons presented a complaint to the Human Rights Commission, urging judicial authorities to look into their case. "Our case is held up in the courts of Dhahran Al-Janoub and Khamis Mushait and the delay in issuing a verdict has negatively affected our interests and disintegrated our family," said the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by Al-Watan Arabic daily. Authorities in Dhahran Al-Janoub Prison had sent 19 letters to the court to know the progress of the case but they have not received any reply from the judicial authorities, the paper said. Brig. Ayub Naheet, spokesman for the Prisons' Department, said his organization has nothing to do with the delay and the time spent by suspects in prisons. "We are executive authorities and we follow instructions of investigation and judicial authorities," he added. Mansour Al-Qafari, spokesman for the Justice Ministry, said the four had involved in a major crime, which caused two deaths while a police officer was injured. "We received the case on May 11, 2014, and the court started looking into it after a week," Al-Qafari told Al-Watan. After three sessions, the case was returned to the concerned authorities to complete necessary procedures for the hearing to continue. "The court is still looking into the case, which involves more than one defendant," he added. He also pointed out that the Dhahran Al-Janoub Court was looking into 28 cases, including 22 cases related to the detainees. "All prisoners in Dhahran Al-Janoub have been transferred to Abha and Khamis Mushayt," he added. Al-Qafari emphasized the right of prisoners to approach the Supreme Judiciary Council if they have any complaints regarding negligence of justice. "We have a stringent law to punish negligent officers and the ministry has a special mechanism to receive complaints." He said the ministry gives utmost importance to issues related to prisoners. "Justice Minister Dr. Walid Al-Samaani has given instructions to take care of prisoners' issues, especially those in the southern region, by conducting field inspections," he added.
