Law on the Protection of Whistle-blowers, Witnesses, Experts and Victims

Purpose and scope

• Protects whistleblowers, witnesses, experts and victims in the crimes it covers, and sets up a special protection programme within the Public Prosecution (Article 4).

Key rules, rights and obligations

• Oversight, law-enforcement and investigating bodies must hide the identity and address of a whistleblower, witness, expert or victim in correspondence and records where needed or on request (Article 2); the court may take special measures during trial, including hearing testimony apart from the accused and counsel where necessary (Article 3).
• A person is admitted to the programme on a reasoned request or a recommendation from the oversight, enforcement or investigating body or the court (Article 7); in imminent danger the Attorney General may give protection without consent for up to thirty days (Article 8).
• Data on protected persons is confidential (Article 15), and they may not be dismissed or subjected to a decision reducing their rights or harming their reputation for the reasons protection was granted (Article 17).

Violations, penalties and common problems

• Deliberately revealing a protected person's identity or location: up to one year in prison and up to two hundred thousand riyals, or either (Article 24).
• Using force or violence against a protected person for telling the truth: up to three years and up to five hundred thousand riyals, or either (Article 25).
• Threatening, blackmailing or bribing them: up to two years and three hundred thousand riyals; obstructing protection: up to one year and two hundred thousand; taking a prohibited employment action against them: up to six months and one hundred thousand riyals (Article 26).
• A private firm whose manager or staff commits these crimes for its benefit is punished (Article 27), and penalties are at least half the maximum for an organised gang (Article 30).

Procedures and key deadlines

• Protection ends by a written, reasoned decision notified at least fifteen days before it takes effect, and it may be objected to (Article 21).

An advisory summary prepared by Al-Bayan Al-Wadih Law Firm. It is not an official text and does not replace the law, its implementing regulations, or advice from a specialised lawyer. The official published text and its amendments prevail.