Saudi Ambassador to London Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf.

:: Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom reaffirms his country’s condemnation of “all forms of torture and supports the right to freedom of expression within the judicial framework”.

He refuted a report published by The Guardian on the United Nations special rapporteur’s mission in Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Riyadh.

In a letter addressed to the newspaper, Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud wrote that “no one is sentenced or imprisoned until proven guilty. The Public Prosecution checks all prisons and detention centres to certify that prisoners are being held in accordance with international law”.

“We comply with the law of criminal procedure to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of prisoners. All detainees are treated with dignity; they are informed of the reason for their detention and they have the right to notify family members. The Saudi Human Rights Commission is present at police stations and prisons to monitor the treatment of prisoners and to record any complaints, and reports from their impromptu visits are submitted directly to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,” he added.

Saudi Arabia cooperated with UN mission and its rapporteur was given access to prisons and to the majority of prisoners that he requested to see “unless a timely official request was not received by the authorities, or the prisoners were not detained on terrorism charges …, or they had already been released from prison,” Al Saud’s letter read.