The silence of the good people is more dangerous than the brutality of the bad people. (Martin Luther King Jr.)
It is now over two and a half years since 80% of Newcastle United was taken over by the Saudi Public Investment Fund on 7 October 2021. At the time there were a number of concerns raised by individuals and organisations regarding the Saudi regime’s record on human rights balanced by various optimistic predictions that the takeover would be helpful in encouraging the regime to improve their human rights record and that the takeover might be beneficial in that respect. For the most part, these predictions have proved too optimistic.
Indeed, barely five months after the takeover it was widely reported that the Saudi regime had executed 81 men on one day, last year a retired teacher was given a death sentence for posting on social media, while numerous people have received long prison sentences for simply expressing opinions peacefully.
Salma al-Shehab
One of those in prison for a long sentence is Salma al-Shehab. She is a mother of two and was a student at Leeds University, when she visited her home country of Saudi Arabia and was arrested and imprisoned. Her ‘crime’ was to simply post tweets in support of Saudi prisoners of conscience.
It was her particular plight that the protest outside St James’ Park on Saturday 27 April was there to highlight. The protest has also had some support from Sheffield United fans, whose team has also had investment from Saudi Arabia. Indeed the Sheffield United fanzine The Pinch included a piece from John Hird of NUFCFAS on their website last week.
The previous evening had seen a fans forum take place in Newcastle, with numerous speakers, including John Hird from NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing and local councillor Jane Byrne. There was also a tape played, with the voice of somebody who is the sister of someone in prison in Saudi Arabia and a speaker from Amnesty International who talked of a new Amnesty campaign regarding Saudi Arabia, called Defying Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom of Repression.
As well as the protest outside St James’ Park, NUFCFAS were also asking fans of both clubs to download and display Free Salma posters in the 27th minute of the Newcastle United vs Sheffield United match, to show support for Salma and mark the length of her sentence.
This protest was a very principled thing to do and those involved deserve our respect. I am reminded of another quote from Martin Luther King, who visited in Newcastle in November 1967:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
