RIYADH (AFP) — A Saudi lawyer and human rights activist who is banned from travelling abroad has received the International Human Rights Lawyer Award from the American Bar Association (ABA), he told AFP Friday.
"This award shows that there is an international monitoring of human rights work in Saudi Arabia," lawyer Abdurrahman al-Lahem said.
"It values the work of a large group of activists in Saudi society who are defending human rights. I am full of hope that this group will grow larger," he added.
In a letter sent on Wednesday, ABA told Lahem that he was selected for the award, to honour his "bravery in standing up to injustice and ... (his) dedicated advocacy work."
"We commend your work in upholding human rights and due process in Saudi Arabia in the face of persecution," said the letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP.
But Lahem will not be able to receive the award in person during a conference held in Vienna in July unless a four-year-old travel ban imposed on him by the Saudi authorities is lifted.
He said that the award "sends a positive signal that there is a margin (of freedom) which has allowed a lawyer to be active," rather than tarnishing the kingdom's human rights record.
Lahem has had a history of confrontations with the judicial authorities in Saudi Arabia, whose courts apply sharia, or Islamic law.
In November, his lawyer licence was revoked by a court after he objected to a ruling which penalised a female rape victim, who was later pardoned by King Abdullah after an international uproar over the case.
He also spent some nine months behind bars for criticising the judiciary while defending three reformists who were jailed for demanding a constitutional monarchy. The four were pardoned by King Abdullah in August 2005.
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