Sister of man imprisoned in Saudi Arabia writes to Lewis Hamilton

The sister of a person who was sentenced to demise in Saudi Arabia is asking seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton to assist save her brother’s life.
Zeinab Abu Al-Kheir instructed The Associated Press in a phone interview that Hamilton’s declaration two weeks in the past in Qatar that F1 is “duty bound” to boost consciousness on human rights makes her assume that he may have the ability to save her brother, Hussein Abu Al-Kheir. The highlight of auto racing pivots to Saudi Arabia on Sunday when the dominion for the primary time hosts an F1 contest.
“Dear Lewis, I’m writing to you in the hope that can save my brother’s life,” Abu Al-Kheir wrote final week to Hamilton from her house in Canada, in a letter shared solely with the AP. “Just saying his name while you are in Saudi Arabia may be enough.”
Asked in regards to the letter throughout his pre-race information convention on Thursday, Hamilton stated, “I’m not really sure which letter you’re referring to, so I can’t really comment on that one.”
Saudi Arabia, for years one of many world’s most prolific executioners, dramatically diminished the variety of individuals put to demise in 2020, following adjustments halting executions for non-violent drug-related crimes, in accordance with the federal government’s tally and unbiased observers.
With her youthful brother jailed practically 6,000 miles (about 9,700 kilometers) away in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Abu Al-Kheir stated she hopes Hamilton may turn into a connection to highly effective Saudis.
“A famous man like Hamilton can do something, he can talk with the prince (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman), the minister of interior or even with King Salman,” Abu Al-Kheir stated from her house close to Ottowa. “People like Hamilton bring attention to the governments everywhere.”
In her letter to Hamilton, shared solely with the AP by the authorized motion NGO Reprieve, Abu Al-Kheir says her brother, a 56-year-old Jordanian, was placed on demise row 5 years in the past on drug-related fees.
She says the husband and father of eight was unwittingly used as a drug mule and when he was arrested, horrifically tortured. On his route from Jordan into Saudi Arabia for work as a driver, customs officers someday searched his automobile.
“For 12 days, my brother told the officers the truth: that he knew nothing about the pills,” Abu Al-Kheir wrote in her letter. “They suspended him from the ceiling, upside down, and beat him on every part of his body. The torture was so severe that even a year later, we could see the marks. Eventually, he falsely admitted to trafficking the drugs.”
Amnesty International ranked Saudi Arabia third on the planet for the best variety of executions in 2019.
According to Reprieve, 392 individuals have been executed for non-violent crimes within the six years that King Salman and the highly effective crown prince have dominated.
There was a big drop in 2020 in comparison with an all-time excessive of 184 executions the yr earlier than. The drop resulted partly from a moratorium on demise penalties for drug-related offenses.
But Abu Al-Kheir instructed the AP she’s apprehensive her brother may nonetheless face execution.
“They said they have stopped the death (from) beheading since almost one year. But there is nobody who knows what they are doing (inside the prison),” she stated.
Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been accused of “sports-washing” their human rights data through the use of high-profile sporting occasions to current a good picture.
Qatar hosts the World Cup subsequent yr. Two years in the past, boxer Anthony Joshua left Saudi Arabia round $70 million richer after successful in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia got here underneath scrutiny in October after shopping for English Premier League membership Newcastle.
Human Rights Watch launched a marketing campaign late final yr to counter what it says has been an effort by the Saudi authorities to spend billions of {dollars} internet hosting main occasions as “ a deliberate strategy to deflect from the country’s image as a pervasive human rights violator.”
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, stated glamorous occasions should not deflect from human rights.
“The Saudi Arabian authorities have invested heavily in PR stunts to re-brand their image,” Morayef stated Thursday in a information launch. “The Saudi Arabia authorities need to realize that the best PR comes from respecting human rights.”
The AP despatched an e-mail to authorities authorities looking for clarification on the demise penalty and human rights.
Abu Al-Kheir, in the meantime, additionally wrote to King Salman.
“I tried all the ways to help my brother, to save his life,” she instructed The AP. “I always give him hope, to see his kids and wife.”
Hamilton has been a loud voice for human rights.
In July, he and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel spoke out in opposition to the Hungarian authorities’s deliberate LGBT regulation referendum.
Hamilton had a rainbow on his Mercedes helmet in Qatar for the LGBTQ+ neighborhood. Two years in the past, singer Nicki Minaj pulled out of a live performance in Saudi Arabia to assist ladies’s rights and homosexual rights.
In Saudi Arabia, same-sex relationships are criminalized and may end up in flogging or demise sentences. Discrimination and persecution are widespread however it’s uncommon to see people prosecuted.
Hamilton addressed the difficulty in his information convention Thursday
“If everyone’s wants to take the time to go and read what the law is for the LGBTQ + community, it is pretty terrifying,” Hamilton stated.
“Do I feel comfortable (racing) here? I will say I do. But it’s not my choice to be here, the sport has taken the choice to be here,” Hamilton stated. “There’s a lot of change that needs to happen and I think our sport needs to do more.”