Saudi Arabia Amends Regulations to Prohibit Handcuffing of Accused Upon Arrest

The higher Saudi authorities have approved amending the regulations to prohibit handcuffing of the accused after their arrest except under extreme circumstances. The amendment in this regard was made to Article 21 of the Executive Regulations of the Criminal Procedure Law pertaining to protecting the rights of the accused by adding a paragraph to the article.

According to the amendment, the accused shall not be handcuffed upon arrest, unless he causes harm to himself or to others, or attempts to escape custody.

The sources stated that the amendment came after studying the discretionary power of criminal investigation officers to handcuff people, and limiting that power to specific cases that warranted. This was after reviewing the minutes and recommendations prepared by the competent authorities in this respect.

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