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By Adnan Al-Shabrawi
JEDDAH — Khaled Al-Araj, minister of civil affairs who was relieved from his position under a Royal Decree on Saturday, may be handed 3-10 years in prison for charges of misusing his power, according to lawyers and legal experts.
They said Araj is the first minister in the Kingdom to be tried under the system of the trial of ministers which was issued about 58 years ago.
He was accused of appointing one of his sons at a senior position in the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs at a monthly salary of SR21,600 though he only had a secondary school certificate.
The son was below 33 years of age which is the minimum age for anyone to be appointed in a position of expert or senior consultant. He was also not subjected to medical examination.
Araj would be investigated by a committee comprising three ministers and two high court judges. The oldest minister will chair the committee.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) and the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) have both written to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman about the violations Araj has committed.
According to the system, the committee will investigate the former minister for about 30 days after which it will forward its findings to the court for his trial.
Lawyer Mohammed Al-Timyat said that the procedures for a minister’s trial do not need lawsuits against him. Any citizen may send a complaint against any minister to the Council of Ministers which will refer the concerned minister to investigation.
He said investigations against any minister will begin whenever there is enough evidence against him.
Ibrahim Al-Hussain, lawyer and legal consultant, said in press statements on Monday that if convicted, the former minister would be banned form taking up any public position or being a member in any of the boards of directors of companies or establishments.
Saad Al-Thuwaini, who complained against the minister to Nazaha accusing him of corruption, said he was not scared though many people tried to threaten him of the consequences of his action.
He said when he came to know about the minister’s violations, he created a hashtag on social media titled :#Civil Service Minister appoints his son at SR21,000.
“I waited for four days hoping that someone else would complain against the minister but when nobody did, I filed the complaint myself under my own name,” he said.
Thuwaini said he was following up his complaint with Nazaha and the last time he did this was four days prior to the minister’s removal.
“I have nothing personal against the minister but I am against corruption anywhere any time,” he said.
Thuwaini claimed that the minister’s son was picked up out of more than 20,000 highly qualified applicants.
© The Saudi Gazette 2017
