URGENT ACTION

Turkish MAN AT RISK OF BEHEADING

A 29-year-old Turkish man, Ali Agirdas, is at imminent risk of beheading in Saudi Arabia.His sentence is being considered by the Supreme Judicial Council, which is headed by the King. Ali Agirdas could be executed at any time if the Council approves his sentence.

Ali Agirdas was arrested on 24 February 2007 for smuggling drugs in Riyadh and was convicted and sentenced to death by a General Court in Riyadh on 18 June 2008. His sentence was upheld on appeal. His case now has to be considered by the Supreme Judicial Council, which can approve death sentences or send them back to the Court of Cassation for review.

During his trial, Ali Agirdas was informed by the judge that he had signed a confession in Arabic, a language which he cannot read but can speak limited Arabic, stating he knew he was carrying drugs when he was arrested. He did not have an interpreter or a lawyer during his interrogation. Ali Agirdas had told the interrogator that he did not know about the drugs. However the interrogator presented him with a document in Arabic which was the written confession and said that it would help his case. Ali Agirdas told the court that he had not known what was in the document. He was convicted on the basis of this confession.

Ali Agirdas did not have a lawyer during his trial but did have an interpreter. He however did have a lawyer during his appeal. He is held in al-Hair prison in the capital city of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia.

Prisoners in Saudi Arabia may be put to death without a scheduled date for execution being made known to them or their families.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, English or your own language:

• Urging the King to halt the execution of Ali Agirdas;

• Noting that he was convicted on the basis of a confession which he signed without understanding what it said and as such should be provided with a retrial that adheres to international fair trial standards including the UN Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, which state that capital punishment may only be imposed after a fair trial in which the defendant is provided with "adequate legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings."

• Calling on him to commute Ali Agirdas’s death sentence, and those of all others under sentence of death in Saudi Arabia, as a matter of urgency, with a view to abolishing the death penalty.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 18 DECEMBER 2009 TO: