Category Archives: Saudi Arabia

UK on collision course with Saudis over new human rights sanctions

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Measures target individuals in Saudi Arabia, Russia, Myanmar and North Korea

The UK set itself on a diplomatic collision course with one of its key allies after introducing long-awaited sanctions against human rights abusers, including a close aide to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Long-awaited UK government sanctions against human rights abusers, including a close aide to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, have been unveiled by the foreign secretary.

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‘Magnitsky sanctions’: who are those being targeted by UK?

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Forty-nine individuals and organisations from four nations are accused of rights abuses

The UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has announced sanctions against 49 individuals and organisations accused of human rights abuses from four different countries.

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Twenty Saudi officials go on trial in absentia over Khashoggi killing

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Fiancee of late journalist hopes Istanbul trial will reveal circumstances of death and location of remains

Twenty Saudi officials are on trial in absentia in Turkey accused of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, almost two years after his disappearance in Istanbul shocked the world and irreparably tarnished the image of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman as a liberal reformer.

Khashoggi’s Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, and the UN special rapporteur Agnès Callamard waited for the judges to arrive in a courtroom at the imposing courthouse complex in Istanbul’s Çağlayan neighbourhood before the trial began on Friday. Both women are hoping it will shed more light on the grim circumstances of the journalist’s death and reveal what happened to his remains.

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Khashoggi fiancee calls for justice as 20 Saudi officials go on trial in Turkey

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Hatice Cengiz hopes trial in absentia will reveal circumstances of journalist’s death and location of remains

The fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi has told a Turkish court that all avenues for justice must be explored as 20 Saudi officials went on trial in absentia over the journalist’s gruesome killing and dismemberment in Istanbul in 2018.

Taking the witness stand on Friday morning at Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse complex, Hatice Cengiz had to pause several times to stop her voice from breaking. The absence of the 20 defendants, as well as Khashoggi’s still missing remains, weighed heavily over the proceedings.

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Exclusive: Saudi dissident warned by Canadian police he is a target

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Omar Abdulaziz, who was close to murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, told of threat posed by Saudi Arabia

A prominent Saudi dissident who is living in exile in Canada said he was recently warned by Canadian authorities that he was a “potential target” of Saudi Arabia and that he needed to take precautions to protect himself.

Omar Abdulaziz, a 29-year-old activist who had a close association with Jamal Khashoggi, the murdered Washington Post journalist, told the Guardian that he believed he was facing a threat to his safety and that the Canadians had credible information about a possible plan to harm him.

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UK accused of selling arms to Saudi Arabia a year after court ban

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British firms fulfilling fighter jet contracts which enable kingdom to wage war in Yemen, despite the trade being ruled unlawful

The government stands accused of ignoring a landmark court ruling restricting UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

In a judgment handed down a year ago, the court of appeal ruled it was “unlawful” for the government to have allowed the sale of arms to the kingdom for use in Yemen, where independent estimates suggest a Saudi-led coalition has been responsible for the deaths of more than 8,000 civilians since 2015.

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Canada doubles weapons sales to Saudi Arabia despite moratorium

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  • Canada sells nearly C$3bn of military equipment in 2019
  • Ban on new exports in place over human rights concerns

Canada sold a record amount of military hardware to Saudi Arabia in 2019, despite sharply criticizing its poor human rights record and placing a moratorium on any new exports to the kingdom. 

Newly released figures show Canada sold nearly C$3bn (US$2.2bn) worth of military equipment to Saudi Arabia in 2019 – more than double the total of the previous year, reported the Globe and Mail. The bulk of the exports were light armoured vehicles, part of a deal with the Saudis worth C$14.8bn.

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‘We’re poor people’: Middle East’s migrant workers look for way home amid pandemic

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Gulf states prepare for demographic shift as migrant workforces return home, with prospects bleak for those who stay

During 14 years in Lebanon, Jevie Olido’s four children have grown up without her, her marriage has failed and her parents have grown old. Now, the income that kept her far from her home in the Philippines has also gone, rubbed out by the coronavirus crisis and an economic implosion that has forced thousands of desperate domestic workers like her to look for ways to leave.

In neighbouring Jordan, Samir Ali, an Indian garment worker, is also waiting to be paid, after only receiving his March salary when he and other foreign workers at their factory threatened to strike. The pandemic has crippled production across the country and caused clashes between labourers and employers. Eight of the 40 men had registered to go back to India once their contracts had finished. “We’ve decided this factory is really bad,” he said. “We’re poor people, so we have to find another way.”

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Family fears grow for activists detained in notorious Saudi prison

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Reports of Covid-19 cases and allegations of withheld medical treatment have sparked concern for those held in al-Ha’ir prison

Relatives of prisoners held in a sprawling complex outside Riyadh say they fear prison conditions and denial of medical treatment are risking the lives of detainees including members of the Saudi royal family. 

Two sources close to the family of Princess Basmah bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Saud say the senior royal, known as an outspoken advocate for reform, is in a life-threatening condition inside al-Ha’ir prison south of Riyadh. Concerns grew following the death in a Riyadh hospital last month of prominent rights activist Abdullah al-Hamid, formerly held in al-Ha’ir.

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‘Sarah and Omar have disappeared’: children of ex-Saudi official missing since March

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Aljabri family tells of anguish over what they describe as act of vengeance by Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The family of a former senior Saudi intelligence official have told of their anguish over the disappearance of two of his adult children in Riyadh, in what has been described to the Guardian as an act of vengeance by the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to force the official’s return from exile.

The disappearance of Omar and Sarah Aljabri, son and daughter of Saad and Nadyah Aljabri, in March showed how Saudi’s de facto ruler had used the children of his perceived enemies against them, said Khalid Aljabri, the siblings’ older brother.

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Yemen faces ‘macabre tragedy’ as aid funding falls short by $1bn

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UN says country is on cliff edge after fundraising summit raises only $1.35bn for the year

Yemen remains on the brink of “a macabre tragedy”, the UN has warned after a humanitarian fundraising summit raised only $1.35bn (£1.05bn) for this year, around $1bn short of the target and only half the sum raised at the equivalent pledging conference last year.

The UN’s humanitarian chief, Mark Lowcock, said unless more money was raised Yemen “will face a horrific outcome at the end of the year”. 

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Global report: fears of coronavirus surge from US protests as world cases hit 6m

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The pope warns that people are more important than economies as countries ease lockdowns

Global coronavirus infections have passed the 6 million mark as Latin America hit the grim milestone of 50,000 deaths with Brazil alone accounting for half of those fatalities.

With at least 369,000 deaths confirmed worldwide since the pandemic began in China in January – and that number believed to be an underestimate – Brazil’s virus death toll of 28,834 has now surpassed that of France with the country reporting 33,274 new infections in the past 24 hours.

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Newcastle takeover in serious doubt as WTO rules pirate TV channel is Saudi

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  • Saudi Arabia is behind satellite TV service beoutQ, WTO rules
  • ‘Breach of international law’ threatens £300m deal for club

The controversial £300m Saudi Arabia-funded takeover of Newcastle United appears to be in serious doubt after the World Trade Organisation ruled that the country is behind a pirate satellite TV and streaming service that offers illegal access to sporting events, the Guardian can reveal.

While the WTO’s 130-page final report will not be published until mid-June, it is understood that the independent ruling firmly establishes that the Saudi government is behind beoutQ. It can also be revealed that the Premier League, which received the WTO report this month, made submissions against Saudi Arabia as part of the legal process.

Previously Fifa, Uefa, the Premier League, La Liga and others have tried to take legal action against beoutQ in Saudi Arabia for illegally streaming matches, but nine local legal firms declined to take on the copyright case. Subsequently a case against Saudi Arabia was taken to the WTO, the highest judicial body that could rule on the matter. It has now issued its ruling – finding that Saudi Arabia is in breach of international law as a result of beoutQ.

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Khashoggi sons’ pardon is step towards killers’ release, says UN investigator

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Agnès Callamard says Saudi authorities playing out ‘final act in their parody of justice’

A UN investigator has predicted Saudi Arabia will eventually release the convicted killers of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after the killers were said to have been forgiven by Khashoggi’s sons in a move she said represented the kingdom’s “absolute impunity”.

Agnès Callamard, the special rapporteur for extrajudicial killings who has said the 2018 murder was committed at the behest of the Saudi state, said on Friday that the message of forgiveness represented the “first steps towards their eventual release” under Saudi and sharia law.

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‘The end of an era’: oil price collapse may force Saudis to rein in arms spending

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The world’s fifth largest weapons buyer is eating up its reserves - and its political clout

Saudi Arabia may be forced to forego new weapons contracts and delay already-agreed weapons purchases as a financial crisis grips the kingdom, experts predict.

The expected delay of new weapons deals could have long-term political repercussions for the country under the rule of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and de facto ruler who has waged a bloody war with neighbouring Yemen.

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Global report: Fauci warns of ‘needless death’ as WHO urges vigilance in lifting lockdowns

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Health body says coronavirus restrictions must be eased carefully; Iran to reopens mosques; China reports one new case

The World Health Organization has called on countries to show “extreme vigilance” when loosening Covid-19 restrictions as the top US infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, warned that prematurely reopening the American economy would cause “needless suffering and death”.

The WHO’s emergencies chief, Michael Ryan, has hailed the gradual lifting of coronavirus lockdowns in some countries whose death and infection rates were dropping, as a sign of “hope”, but he cautioned that “extreme vigilance is required”.

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‘It’s being built on our blood’: the true cost of Saudi Arabia’s $500bn megacity

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With an artificial moon and flying taxis, Neom has been billed as humanity’s next chapter. But beneath the glitzy veneer lies a story of threats, forced eviction and bloodshed

“The future has a new home,” proclaims the website.

“It’s a virgin area that has a lot of beauty,” says the voice over a string section soundtrack as the promotional video tracks colour-tinted panoramic shots of picturesque desert expanses, and deep azure lagoons.

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Ramadan TV dramas signal shift in Arab-Israeli relations

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Two popular Middle Eastern series stir surprise with pro-Israel messages backed by Saudi Arabia

Nightfall during Ramadan in the Middle East is drama time, when Arab soap operas accompany evening feasts with fare of feuds, historical heroes and villains and forbidden love. This year though, programmers have broached new ground using the popular shows to highlight a normalisation with Israel.

Two series broadcast across the region in the first three days of the Muslim holy month have stirred both surprise and contention – one by daring to explore the Jewish history of the Gulf, the other by suggesting that Israel may not be an enemy and that Palestinians have been ungrateful for Saudi Arabia’s support.

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Saudi Arabia ends death penalty for crimes committed by minors

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Kingdom has one of the world’s highest rates of execution and rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trials

Saudi Arabia has ended the death penalty for crimes committed by minors after effectively abolishing floggings, as the kingdom seeks to blunt criticism over its human rights record.

The death penalty was eliminated for those convicted of crimes committed while they were minors, Human Rights Commission president Awwad Alawwad said in a statement, citing a royal decree.

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Leading Saudi activist dies in detention, say campaigners

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Reported death of Abdullah al-Hamid puts spotlight back on kingdom’s human rights record

A leading activist serving an 11-year prison sentence has died in detention in Saudi Arabia, campaigners have said, highlighting the kingdom’s human rights record.

Abdullah al-Hamid, 69, died after a stroke in his prison cell earlier this month, according to multiple rights groups, including Amnesty International.

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