Member of the Saudi governmental Human Rights Commission
Wafa Al-Saleh, Member of the Saudi governmental Human Rights Commission, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Wafa Al-Saleh graduated from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia and obtained her Master's from the same school in Special Education. She obtained her Ph.D. from Princess Nourah University in Saudi Arabia in curriculum and teaching methods. Before joining the Human Rights Commission, she held multiple positions in the Ministry of Education, including serving as a consultant to the Minister of Education from 2011 to 2015.
Alsaleh was a member of Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Commission (HRC) when Loujain Alhathloul received a visit from the Commission while in prison. According to the family of Loujain Alhathloul and their court memorandum, on or about November 26, 2018, a committee from the Human Rights Commission, including Amal al-Moallimi, Alsaleh, and Samha Saeed Alghamd, visited Alhathloul in prison to inquire about her allegations of torture, sexual harassment, electrocution, and mistreatment.
According to her family and court records, Alhathloul told the three members of the Commission about incidents of torture, sexual harassment, electrocution, and threats of rape and mistreatment in prison. Alhtathoul asked them, "Will you be able to protect me?"
According to her family, the Commission members said they could not help her. There is no indication that Alsaleh or her colleagues took any action regarding Alhathloul's complaint. In its annual reports, the Commission mentioned having received complaints about torture and mistreatment but did not list any action. Indeed, months later, a representative of the Human Rights Commission spoke to the Saudi media outlet Okaz, denying reports of torture and mistreatment in Saudi prisons.
Alsaleh and her colleagues' refusal to investigate Alhathloul's complaint and take appropriate action violated their obligation, under the Saudi Statute governing the Commission, to "receive and verify complaints related to human rights and take legal measures pertaining to them."
Indeed, in its 2019 annual report, the Commission wrote that its members "monitored the procedures and trial to make sure that individuals got their rights according to the law."
See cases: Loujain Alhathloul
