It is now over three and a half years since the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and since then NE Bylines has been regularly reviewing what life is like in that Middle Eastern kingdom and what has happened there since that takeover in October 2021. There are some who would claim that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a place where human rights are not respected and that the regime is a murderous regime, which starts illegal wars and is responsible for many human rights abuses. But is all that really true? Let’s see what has been happening and look at the hard evidence. How has Saudi Arabia been reported in recent weeks?
Parts 1-22 of this survey have covered the period from 7th October 2021 to the end of June this year. So, what has been happening regarding Saudi Arabia in July 2025?
Reporting on executions
On 7th July, it was reported that a new report published that day by Amnesty International drew attention to what was described as “a startling surge in executions in Saudi Arabia in recent years”, especially in relation to drug-related offences, highlighting the significant impact of these on foreign nationals.
It was recorded that the official press agency of Saudi Arabia had stated that between January 2014 and June 2025, 1,816 people had been executed by Saudi Arabia. Nearly one third were said to have been executed for drug-related offences, which Amnesty reminded us are offences that may not be punished by death under international human rights law and standards. Foreign nationals made up nearly three-quarters (75%) of the 597 people executed for drug-related offences during the ten-year period.
It was further reported that, “in 2024 Saudi Arabia carried out a record 345 executions. So far this year between January and June 2025, Saudi Arabia executed a total of 180 people. In June 2025 alone, Saudi Arabia has executed 46 people, including 37 for drug-related offences – an average of more than one drug-related execution per day. Thirty-four were foreign nationals from Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria”.
Involvement in sports
On 7th July, The Athletic reported on a podcast they had produced about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in two football tournaments in the US this summer and asking what cost that involvement was coming at. As well as analysing the country’s national team being an invitee to the Gold Cup and the impact of Al Hilal’s success in reaching the Club World Cup quarter-finals, the episode was said to highlight “the political bond between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, as well as those fighting for greater awareness of the human rights issues in Saudi”.
Abdullah Alaoudh, director for countering authoritarianism at the Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC), commented: “Allowing Saudi Arabia to make all these deals is a clear indication that there is no human rights assessment,” adding that it is “an atrocious conclusion (for) humanity”.
It was further said that, “Alaoudh, whose father, a leading Saudi scholar, has been imprisoned since 2017, believes the Saudi Arabia 2034 World Cup award should not have happened without “essential and transformational changes “.
Meanwhile, Rodney Dixon KC, one of three international lawyers who have made a complaint to FIFA — with the support of Alaoudh and the MEDC —alleging that it breached its own rules on human rights said: “It should be done first as part of the bidding process, but we passed that stage now. It can’t be more generalised rhetoric.”
More on executions
On 8th July it was reported by The Indian Express that after a temporary halt between 2021 and 2022, executions had increased rapidly once again, with 122 people put to death in 2024 alone. The toll now was said to stand at 118, just halfway through 2025.
Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Middle East researcher was reported as saying, “These are people often coming from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds… They are promised a small reward, a few hundred dollars and they end up paying with their lives”.
It was reported on 11th July that Saudi Arabia had put two Ethiopians to death Thursday 10th July. This was said to have brought 2025’s number of foreigners executed past the 100 mark, described as, “a spike in capital punishment that human rights groups have strongly condemned”.
It was noted that the interior ministry had said that the two men had been executed on drug charges, and this brought AFP’s tally of foreigners put to death since the beginning of the year to at least 101.
The statement published by the Saudi Press Agency read: “Khalil Qasim Muhammad Omar and Murad Yaqub Adam Siyo — both of Ethiopian nationality — were found guilty of smuggling hashish. Upon referral to the competent court, a verdict was issued confirming the charges against them and sentencing them to death.”
It was further noted that altogether, 189 people had been executed in 2025, according to AFP’s count, including 88 Saudis.
Al-Alawi
It was reported on 15th July that another young person had been executed in Saudi Arabia, and his body then withheld. It was further reported that Al-Alawi, a 27-year-old resident of Al-Shohada city in Qatif, had been sentenced to death on charges of ‘terrorism and threatening national security’.
However, this charge was said to be refuted, by human rights organizations as they were seen as politically motivated and “lacking any semblance of a fair judicial process”.
It was also noted that Al-Alawi had been arrested on September 22, 2020, before being reportedly subjected to inhuman treatment and torture in prison and denied basic legal rights, including the right to a public and impartial trial, access to a lawyer, and the ability to appeal his sentence.
In terms of the charges against Al-Alawi, it was further noted: “Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry released a statement accusing him of involvement in terrorist organizations — a label often used by the regime against political dissidents and religious activists. Opposition groups from the Arabian Peninsula noted that these accusations were politically driven, and such sentences are typically handed down directly by the King or Crown Prince, not through independent courts”.
In a strong statement, one opposition group was reported as saying:
“The Saudi regime commits one crime after another, bloodshed has become its favourite game. It has institutionalized brutality….”
After the execution, Saudi authorities refused to return Al-Alawi’s body to his family, which is reported as being an increasingly common practice in Saudi Arabia for executed prisoners.
Saudi woman breaking boundaries
It was reported on 21st July by Gulf News that Dr. Abeer bint Hassan Al Obaidi had become the first Saudi woman to earn the prestigious title of Professor in International Law and Human Rights.
It was further noted that, “Dr. Al Obaidi, a graduate of Emory Law School in the United States, one of the world’s most renowned legal institutions, has long been regarded as a leading voice in international law. Her latest achievement positions her as a trailblazer not only for Saudi women in academia but for the broader legal community across the region”.
A small change to workforce management
Finally it was reported on 31st July that from that day, the Qiwa labour platform in Saudi Arabia had introduced important updates to employment-contract regulations according to a report in the Saudi Gazette. It was noted that, “employers are no longer permitted to mark workers as “absent from work” immediately after contract termination: they must wait at least 60 days, provided the worker’s residence permit (Iqama) remains valid. This change brings greater clarity, fairness, and digital efficiency to workforce management”.
So, there is evidence about what was happening concerning Saudi Arabia in July 2025. Are those who accuse the Saudi regime of having a bad human rights record being fair? What should we say and what should we do today, and in the future, in order to respond to the human rights record of the Saudi regime? Perhaps we ought to remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr., who visited Newcastle on 13th November 1967, to receive an honorary degree at Newcastle University. In a sermon in 1959, King noted that, “we must learn that the passive acceptance of an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby become a participant in its evil. Non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.”
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