The anguished sister of a dad-of-eight has shared shocking details about her brother living in constant fear on death row in Saudi Arabia. Jordanian national Hussain Abu-al-Khair is waiting to be 'put to the sword' in a jail cell no bigger than a 'parking space' after he was arrested in 2014 for drug trafficking charges which he strongly denies, the Mirror reports.
He was then subjected to the 'most severe' form of torture for 12 days straight after his arrest and currently lives in extreme paranoia and terror as the Saudi government refuse to inform when he will be executed. His desperate sister Zainab Abu al-Khair has been fighting his corner ever since his arrest and continues to plead with the world to save his life after she informed the Humans Rights Council in 2019 of the case.
Hussain was seized in 2014 when he was found driving his taxi over a border between Jordan and the Gulf state with 20,000 pills of Captagon, which is a stimulant used in the Middle East. Rights groups argue the taxi driver was unaware he was being used as a drug mule and has been severely punished while the Narco kingpins in the ultra-conservative Sharia state remain at large.
He was arrested in May 2014 by Saudi drug enforcement officers who took him to a black site where he endured the 'most severe' forms of torture over a 12-day period. Rights groups claim the father was suspended from his feet as he was violently beaten from his legs to his head.
He was also degraded and forced into signing a confession that would put an immediate end to the brutality he was being put through. Ms Abu al-Khair said to the Mirror: "My brother is living with great fear for his life.
"Every moment he's expecting it to be his turn as our whole family is forced to live in fear, sadness, and anxiety." The taxi driver who is from a poor and hard-working family had no option but to leave his eight kids behind in Jordan who are now living in 'misery because of their dad's absence'.
His nine years in prison have left the poverty stricken family struggling even more than before as Hussain was their main source of income. Zainab who now resides in Canada brought her brother's case to light in March 2019 before the Human Rights Council as she informed them of the shocking abuse he has endured following his arrest.
The desperate sister details how her brother is forced to watch the rest of fellow death row inmates go to the death chamber as she says: "He realises every moment that his turn may be next." In the past, Saudi Arabia's public spaces would be used for execution chambers and would draw in large crowds to watch the inmates die.
Building pressure from world leaders resulted in a response from Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman who made a number of promises to improve the country's appalling human rights records - one of them being that non-violent offenders would no longer be killed.
This vow would include the drug-trafficking charge Hussain strongly denies. However, Zainab is not satisfied by this remark as she says MBS's promises are empty and that the state-sanctioned killings will continue outside of the public eye in secrecy.
Riyadh have also been slammed for the disproportionate number of foreign inmates on death row, including Jordanian national Hussain. While Saudi prisoners are allowed to regularly contact their families as well as being provided with legal advice, a report compiled by the European Saud Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) found that foreigners are not given the same rights.
Zainab says she appreciates the international organisations and politicians who have addressed their worries about the torture on a diplomatic level - but said more has to be done for the Saudi monarchy to be held responsible. Hussain, who is now an elderly man, is also suffering from multiple health problems as well as living in constant torture.
The dad-of-eight is diabetic, has high blood pressure and also an intense foot pain which he never recovered from after his beating when he was first arrested. A report found the helpless man is also nearly blind with excruciating pain in his stomach and legs but is unaware of the cause because he is denied medical care.
It's believed Hussain may be suffering from death row syndrome which is described as a psychological impairment individuals facing execution often suffer from. The prisoner who has been left in a cell no bigger than a parking space is 'surrounded by death from all sides', his sister says.
His mental torture is worsened by the fact that the cruel Saudi regime will not inform when he is going to die which leaves him in a continuous state of paranoia and terror. Zainab explained: "It's psychological torture because he does not know when they will cut off his head."
The father also fears he will be buried in Saudi Arabia meaning his family will not be given the proper chance to grieve his death in their homeland. Zainab who is unable to regularly contact her brother said how much she misses her beloved sibling who was always a big 'smiling' family man who loved his joke despite living in poverty.
The devastated sibling who is also suffering mental from the lack of justice surrounding her brother's situation and his rapidly deteriorating health revealed she is now on medication to help cope with the pain of not knowing when he will be killed. The long list of accusations against the Saudi regime would equate to gross violations of the UN's Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
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