TheGeneral Directorate of Investigations (Arabic:المديرية العامة للمباحث), commonly known simply as theMabahith, is thesecret police agency of thePresidency of State Security inSaudi Arabia, and deals with domestic security and counter-intelligence.
The officers of the Mabahith have delegated powers to investigate, survey, and detain individuals who are deemed to be "threats to national security".[1] The Mabahith has conducted a wide variety of security operations that have led to the arrest of high profile terrorists, and opposition members that have been accused of causing internal unrest. Officially, the Mabahith are to turn over arrested individuals to the Saudi courts for sentencing. The Mabahith have been used by the government of Saudi Arabia to monitor political opposition and individuals they deem to be threatening to Saudi society. The organization has been criticized by the United Nations,Amnesty International, andHuman Rights Watch.[2]
According toHuman Rights Watch, the Mabahith "monitors suspected political opponents and others, targets individuals for arrest, and interrogates detainees. Mabahith agents operate with impunity and have been responsible for a wide range of human rights abuses, includingarbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, andtorture"[3] includingwaterboarding,denailing,flagellation andbeatings, amongst other forms of severe abuse.
Members of the Mabahith were allegedly responsible for the torture of Western detainees arrested during a car bombing campaign which started in 2000. Two members in particular,Khalid al-Saleh andIbrahim al-Dali, were named byWilliam Sampson in his court action against the Saudi government, Sampson and others lost their case in theUK High Court when the Saudis used theState Immunity Act 1978 as their defence.
Al-Ha'ir Prison is a Mabahith-affiliated prison.[4] The Mabahith have conducted classified interviews as well as interrogations of high profile Al-Qaeda members being held in the prison.
Dhahban Central Prison is used for arbitrary detention. According to theHuman Rights Watch report, women activists – who have been detained since May 2018 – were taken to Dhahban and tortured in a room called an "officer's guesthouse". Reportedly, the men who tortured these women were from "cyber security" – a reference to officers working underSaud al-Qahtani, who was fired for his involvement in thekilling of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.[10]
