The Kingdom's laws criminalize torture in all its forms. Article (2) of the Law of Criminal Procedure promulgated by Royal Decree No. (M/2), dated 22/1/1435H, corresponding to 26/11/2013, prohibits any bodily or moral harm to be inflicted on a detained person nor to subject him to torture or degrading treatment. Article (36) of the same Law entails that a detained person must be treated with dignity and not be subjected to any bodily or moral harm. Article (102) of the Law stipulates: "interrogation shall be conducted in a manner not affecting the will of the accused in making his statements. The accused may not be asked to take an oath nor be subjected to any duress measures". Article (2) of the Royal Decree No. (43), dated 29/11/1377H, corresponding to 17/06/1958H, punishes the act of making use of one's position or the abuse of power in criminal proceedings, violation of human rights, or abuse or coercion in the name of the job, including torture or cruel treatment. Article (28) of the Imprisonment and Detention Law, promulgated by Royal Decree No. (M/31), dated 21/06/1398H, corresponding to 29/5/1978, prohibits any kind of assault against prisoners or detainees and allows disciplinary measures to be taken against military or civilian personnel who commit such assault.
The Public Prosecution undertakes the monitoring of prisons and detention centers. In implementation of Articles (38), (39) and (40) of the Law of Criminal Procedure, specialists from the Public Prosecution Bureau make periodic visits to prisons, receive complaints from prisoners and detainees and take statutory measures with regard to proven abuses. (121) special departments have been established for this purpose throughout the Kingdom; these put into force the guarantees provided for in the Law of Criminal Procedure.
The Human Rights Commission also conducts continuous visits to prisons, detention centers and observation homes, without obtaining permission from the competent agency. During these visits, the Commission has detected several observations related to prisons, and the conditions of some prisoners and detainees and they were dealt with by the competent agencies under the supervision of the Commission. The Ministry of Interior has established permanent offices in a number of prisons for the Public Prosecution, the Human Rights Commission, and the National Society for Human Rights. The staff of such offices receive complaints from prisoners and detainees and take action to address these promptly and directly. Closed circuit television monitoring equipment has been installed in interrogation rooms for further confidence in the integrity of investigation procedures. The amended Imprisonment and Detention Law will soon be approved, in accordance with the Kingdom's laws and obligations under the relevant human rights conventions.
Regarding compensation of victims of torture or ill-treatment, Article (16) of the Law of Criminal Procedure states that the victim, his lawyer or his heirs have the right to initiate criminal action. Under Article (69) of the Law of Criminal Procedure, a person sustaining harm as a result of the crime can claim his private right during the investigation and he is entitled to join the proceedings as a claimant of private right. The investigator must decide on such claim within three days of its submission to him. If the claim is rejected, an appeal may be lodged with the head of the relevant department within one week from the date of notification of the decision. The decision issued by the head of the relevant department during the investigation is to be deemed final. If the claim is accepted, however, the person sustaining harm will be entitled to attend all the proceedings of the investigation. Article (147) of the same Law guarantees the person sustaining harm to claim his private right during the proceedings. Under Article (215) of the same law a person sustaining harm as a result of malicious accusation or as a result of being detained or imprisoned for a period exceeding the term prescribed for such detention or imprisonment is entitled to claim compensation. Furthermore, Article (207) of the Law states that an acquittal judgement delivered, pursuant to a petition for reconsideration, must include moral and material compensation to mitigate the harm suffered, if the acquitted person so requests.
