It is now nearly three years since the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi PIF, and 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 responsible for many human rights abuses. But is all that 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- 11 of this survey have covered the period from 7th October 2021 to the end of July this year. So, what has been happening regarding Saudi Arabia in August 2024?
“Fleeing their country and seeking asylum abroad”
It was reported by Middle East Eye on 1st August, that the number of Saudi Arabians “fleeing their country and seeking asylum abroad” had spiked since 2013, according to a first-ever survey of its kind published on Thursday by the UK-based human rights organisation Alqst.
It was further noted that Alqst had reported that “the 10-year period up to 2023, during which UN data shows a significant increase in Saudi refugees and asylum seekers, has seen a marked rise in authoritarianism in the kingdom, particularly since King Salman ascended the throne and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman rose to power.
Statistics
” Furthermore, it was stated that in 2013, UN data had cited in the report recorded 575 Saudi Arabian refugees in 14 countries and 192 asylum seekers. By the first half of 2023, that figure was reported to have “surged to 2,100 refugees in 25 countries and 1,748 asylum seekers, representing an increase of over 400 percent of Saudi Arabians seeking protection. While this diaspora community has been growing, Alqst said little is known about the challenges they face in host countries. There is also a lack of quantitative data on why they left and chose to stay away, which prompted the survey.”
Abduction
On 6th August it was noted in Barron’s that a Saudi Arabian woman appeared to have been abducted from Australia and flown to the Gulf state, according to her lawyer who had told AFP, saying “she fears her client is in detention.”
It was noted that Lolita Safeeraldeen’s lawyer Alison Battison had said that she had arrived in Australia in 2022 and stopped responding to messages in May 2023 while in Melbourne. Battisson was further reported to have said that “she initially hoped her client was hiding elsewhere in Australia. But a year later, she has been told Safeeraldeen is back in Saudi Arabia, raising concern that her client was removed from Australia against her will.”
“I’m absolutely certain that Lolita would never go back to Saudi Arabia voluntarily,” Battisson was said to have told AFP in Sydney. “I’m just happy that it looks like she’s alive and for a long time I thought she might be dead.” Battisson was also reported as saying that a family member had confirmed that Safeeraldeen was “alive in Saudi Arabia, most likely in a detention centre.”
Significant risks
Also on 6th August it was reported on Lawcom that Amnesty International had said that the law firm Clifford Chance’s report on the risks of hosting the 2034 World Cup wholly omitted significant risks related to Saudi hosting the competition. Indeed on 1st August, Amnesty International had said that Saudi Arabia had failed to meet FIFA’s own human rights requirements in its bid for the 2034 men’s World Cup, following the publication of its ‘Bid Book’ for the 48-team tournament. Key gaps also remain in plans for the 2030 World Cup to be held in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.
Failed to commit to fundamental reform.
It was further stated that an analysis of the ‘Bid Books’ and tournament ‘Human Rights Plans’ published the previous evening showed that “Saudi Arabia has still failed to commit to fundamental reform of its exploitative labour system, or take any action to improve freedom of expression, end the repression of human rights activists or remove laws that discriminate against women and LGBTI people.”
FIFA set clear human rights standard.
Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport was reported as saying that, “FIFA set clear human rights standards that any bidding country must meet, yet Saudi Arabia’s bid for the 2034 World Cup currently falls far short.
“The bid’s human rights plan simply ignores many of the enormous risks associated with hosting a mega sporting event in a country with such an atrocious human rights record. Saudi Arabia’s World Cup human rights plan says nothing about the brutal muzzling of human rights activists or criminalization of LGBTI people, nor does it outline whether or how it will put an end in practice to the abusive Kafala system that exploits migrant workers. It is astonishing that such blatant risks can be so flagrantly ignored”.
Mohammed al-Ghamdi
The following day 7th August saw more news reported about the fate of Mohammed al-Ghamdi, as it was stated that UK based human rights group Sanad had announced that a Saudi court had overturned the death sentence handed to the former teacher over social media posts made from anonymous accounts with 10 followers.
Death sentence over tweets
It was further reported that last July, the kingdom’s Specialised Criminal Court had given Mohammed al-Ghamdi the death sentence over tweets, including some which focused on unemployment and calling for the release of political prisoners. Sanad stated on 7th August that it had learned from sources inside the kingdom that the Court of Appeal had cancelled the sentence. They also said that “no new sentence has been issued against him yet”.
Samer al-Shumrani, Sanad’s operations manager, was quoted as telling Middle East Eye that “the appeal court’s decision was “a correct measure”, one he believes happened because of pressure from the UN and also from rights groups and activists.”
Climate change
By way of a different angle of looking at human rights in Saudi Arabia, it was noted on 16th August that Climate Change had become an inevitable issue in the Middle East and North Africa that must be “discussed with the same importance as armed conflicts”.
It was further noted that the region had been hit by high temperatures — that had exceeded 60 °C in Kuwait, 54 °C in Egypt, and 50 °C in Saudi Arabia. It was also said that this had caused many deaths, while one day it might be impossible to live in some areas in the region, due to rising temperatures.
Hajj
The deaths at the Hajj earlier this year were put forward as an example, and it was stated that the UN Human Rights Council had said that climate change “represents an immediate and widespread threat to people and communities around the world.” It was also argued that high temperatures affect civil and political rights, such as the right to freedom of religion and belief and could perhaps make the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage impossible in the coming years.
It was further noted that earlier this year during the Hajj, an unprecedented heat wave had caused temperatures to exceed 50 °C in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Islam’s holiest site. It was said that “the heatwave caused the deaths of more than 1,300 pilgrims. A 2019 study by experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that even if the world succeeds in mitigating the worst effects of climate change, the Hajj, whose timing varies, would again take place in the hottest summer months, which will be from 2047 to 2052 and from 2079 to 2086.”
Criticism
On 20th August it was reported that European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), a Berlin-based Saudi rights group had, the previous day criticized the recent execution of a Saudi national on terrorism charges, accusing authorities of falsifying claims that he belonged to the al-Qaeda jihadist group.
It was noted that “Abdul-Majeed al-Nimr, a 59-year-old father of four from Shiite-majority Qatif in Eastern Province, was executed on Aug. 17 after he was charged with joining an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist cell, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) accused Saudi authorities of “falsifying” the charges.”
Charges facing al-Nimr.
ESOHR went on to say that “the charges facing al-Nimr relate to his joining a cell affiliated with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, despite his belonging to the Shiite sect”.
Al-Qaeda, led by Sunni jihadists, was said to view Shiites as heretics and would not accept their membership in the organization. ESOHR were further noted as saying that the execution was “retaliatory” in nature and aimed at silencing dissent, and that “it provides “new evidence of the lack of confidence in all stages of the justice system in Saudi Arabia” and that “the execution sends a “clear message confirming Saudi Arabia’s complete disregard for its obligations… and its continuation of killings that violate international laws.”
Take a stance.
On 20th August it was also noted that Amnesty International had demanded that the Dutch FA, the KNVB, and professional clubs take a stance over the hosting of the 2034 World Cup that is set to be awarded to Saudi Arabia later this year. It was stated that a campaign called ‘Imprisoned XI’, had been launched by the Dutch Section of Amnesty International, calling on the KNVB and its clubs to position themselves ahead of FIFA’s decision in December and vote against the bid if there are no binding human rights agreements.
Furthermore, it was argued that Saudi Arabia, the sole bidder for the 2034 tournament after FIFA gave other eligible nations less than a month to contemplate a bid and that Amnesty had said that it had analysed Saudi Arabia’s bid and concluded that “the human rights plan is seriously flawed.”
2034 tournament plans
It was also noted that in July, Saudi Arabia had presented their plans for the 2034 tournament, but the bid’s human rights strategy, accompanied by an independent context assessment by the law firm Clifford Chance, had failed to make “firm human rights commitments”.
Dagmar Oudshoorn, director of Amnesty International Netherlands was quoted as saying that, “it is up to FIFA to show that they are serious about their own human rights policy. The bid, as it stands now, should not be put to a vote. Amnesty International also asks the KNVB to urge FIFA to do this.”
Up to 50 prisoners facing death penalty.
On 23rd August Middle East Eye reported that up to 50 prisoners in Saudi Arabia are facing the death penalty for drug offences. The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) were reported to have said on 23rd August that there had been a sharp increase in the use of the death penalty between May and August, with executions reaching 30 by 22 August.
It was further reported that “in Tabuk General Prison alone, at least 50 people are facing execution. According to ESOHR, 34 Egyptians are among those sentenced to death in the prison, along with other foreigners, including Jordanians and Syrians.
Executions
Additionally, it was said that ESOHR had said that two Egyptian nationals, Walid al-Baqi, and Youssef Khudair, had been executed on 13 August on charges of smuggling marijuana and amphetamines. ESOHR were also said to have “documented abuses faced by Egyptians on death row in Tabuk prison, including a lack from the Egyptian embassy in the kingdom, denial of their right to adequate defence, failure to appoint lawyers for them and instances of torture and ill-treatment.”
Amendments to the Labour Law
On 28th August, it was noted by Hotelier that The Saudi Council of Ministers had approved significant amendments to the Labour Law, set to take effect in February 2025. It was said that these changes aim to “enhance job stability, improve employee rights, and clarify employer responsibilities, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 and international agreements.” Additionally, the amendments were said to “involve revisions to 38 articles, the removal of seven articles, and the addition of two new ones.”
Agenda
Also on 28th August, it was noted on Inside the Games that while the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform agenda is said to target a prosperous post-oil future for the Asian country, it may come at some human expense.
It was also noted that there had been controversy over the World Cup being in Qatar, while in South Africa “unpaid wages, shoddy housing and medieval working conditions under life-threatening heat are already commonplace for them in Saudi Arabia, where the world’s biggest crude oil exporter insists strengthening employee rights is a top priority.” Indeed, a spokesperson for the Saudi human resources and social development ministry said in response to questions from AFP, that “we take allegations of forced labour extremely seriously, and we investigate any claims of this nature thoroughly.”
Major concerns
Despite this, there are major concerns from human rights groups that the boom in stadium and infrastructure building in Saudi Arabia will result in a lot more exploitation of migrant workers.
Fosir Mia, a Bangladeshi electrician who toiled in construction, told AFP that, “there is a lot of opportunity, but also a lot of opportunity for suffering,” as he also explained that project managers sometimes beat fellow labourers who dared to complain about what were described as their “stressful working conditions”.
So, there is evidence about what was happening concerning Saudi Arabia in August 2024. 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, to respond to the human rights record of the Saudi regime?
