It is now over three years since the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi PIF, and North East 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 Saudi Arabia is a place where human rights are abused and disrespected, and is also ruled by a murderous regime, responsible for starting illegal wars. 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 to 13 of this survey have covered the period from 7 October 2021 to the end of September this year. So, what has been happening regarding Saudi Arabia in October 2024?
2 October
On 2 October, it was reported in The Guardian that Manahel al-Otaibi, a fitness instructor and influencer had been stabbed in the face while in prison after being jailed in January for promoting women’s rights on social media as mentioned here. It was further noted that al-Otaibi, 30, had been sentenced to 11 years in prison for “terrorist offences” in a secret trial that had generated widespread criticism. It was stated that activists had said that it showed the “hollowness” of Saudi progress in human rights.
The Guardian report went on to say that, “this week, Manahel told her family she had been stabbed in the face with a sharp pen by an unknown assailant and required stitches. Her family said they had tried to report the attack to the Saudi government’s Human Rights Commission, but were ignored.”
3 October
On 3 October, it was asserted in The Big Issue that “Tyneside had been engulfed by a dark fog of cognitive dissonance, enabling politicians, the local media, and most fans to pretend that having one of the world’s worst and most vicious human rights-abusing regimes on the planet as owners of Newcastle United has nothing to do with the football.”
The piece went on to state that Saudi state ownership of Newcastle United isn’t just about what happens on the pitch and that, “it has much wider implications, affecting the ethics of local journalists, the collusion of politicians in facilitating the sportswashing aims of the owners and for fans of Newcastle and indeed all clubs. It’s about the future of the ‘beautiful game’”.
Furthermore, it was noted that, “The club and the city are increasingly giving the appearance of being obedient and willing sock puppets for one of the most revolting regimes on the planet. When renowned Saudi human rights activist Lina al Hathloul came to Newcastle in September 2023, only three local politicians bothered to respond to requests to meet her. But while she was here, she told fans that they “should not underestimate the power one word can have”. The only way for the club and the city to salvage their increasingly damaged reputation is for Lina’s words to be listened to, and for the many promises made before the takeover to be recalled and acted upon.”
On the same day, Human Rights Watch stated that United Nations member countries should reject Saudi Arabia’s bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council because of the government’s widespread human rights violations, including possible crimes against humanity. It was further reported that on 9 October, 2024, the UN General Assembly would select 18 new members for three-year terms on the Human Rights Council beginning in January 2025. It was noted that, “that vote, which is nearly devoid of competition, country delegations should also seriously consider whether Qatar, Thailand, and Ethiopia deserve to be on the 47-nation council given the serious concerns about their human rights records.”
Louis Charbonneau, United Nations director at Human Rights Watch commented that, “Saudi Arabia is unfit to serve on the Human Rights Council, and UN member states should reject its candidacy as they did in 2020. Governments that commit crimes against humanity or similar atrocities and ensure impunity for those responsible shouldn’t be rewarded with seats on the UN’s top human rights body.”
8 October
Meanwhile, on 8 October, the Manilla Times reported that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in the Philippines had that day confirmed that Saudi Arabia had executed a Filipino convicted of murder despite repeated appeals from the Philippine government.
DFA spokesman Teresita Daza was reported as saying: “We regret to confirm the news that a Filipino has been executed in Saudi Arabia for murder”. Daza was also reported as saying that the Philippine government had provided legal assistance and exhausted all remedies to stop the execution, including a presidential letter of appeal.
Daza also said that, “the family in the Philippines has requested that their privacy be respected and that the case details be withheld from the public. We will not divulge more details on the case out of respect for their wishes.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was quoted as saying that the execution was “a terrible tragedy”, telling reporters: “It was a terrible tragedy. There was little we had left to do. We had very few options left. We tried everything. Unfortunately, the law there [in Saudi Arabia] is very strict.” On 9 October, it was reported by the Chronicle Live that Newcastle’s new council leader had been urged to meet with Saudi Arabia human rights activists. It was further reported that ALQST, a Saudi human rights organisation had requested a meeting with the new city Labour leader Karen Kilgour, who had taken office the previous week. It was also noted that “campaigners have accused the Gulf state of ‘sportswashing’ following the Public Investment Fund-led takeover of Newcastle United FC three years ago, while the city’s political leaders have also come under pressure to speak up about human rights abuses as details have emerged over efforts to strengthen ties from Tyneside to the Middle East.”
Additionally, it was said that, “a Newcastle delegation pitched the city as the “gateway to Saudi” during a major UK trade mission to Riyadh earlier this year, while emails obtained by the NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing (NUFCFAS) group also revealed efforts by senior civic centre directors to secure investment from and stronger links to Saudi Arabia. In an email to Coun Kilgour, ALQST head of monitoring and advocacy Lina al-Hathloul, who visited Newcastle last year, said she and other activists wanted to speak to the council leader about how to “ensure that human rights remain at the forefront of the conversation””.
10 October
On Thursday 10 October, it was reported in The Guardian that the previous day Saudi Arabia had not been able to win a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. This was seen as a blow to the Saudi regime’s efforts to clean up their reputation on human rights abroad.
It was noted that, “Saudi Arabia is spending billions to transform its global image from a country known for strict religious restrictions and human rights abuses into a tourism and entertainment hub under a plan its Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, launched known as Vision 2030.” On Saturday 10th October, New Socialist published a fascinating piece analysing the situation at St James’ Park, and how in the three years since the Saudi PIF takeover of Newcastle United, the promised investment in the city had failed to materialise. The piece astutely analysed how was this allowed to happen… On 15th October, it was reported by The Canadian Press that SANAD, a United Kingdom-based human rights organisation focused on Saudi Arabia, had stated that a Saudi cartoonist who once drew for a Qatari newspaper as a yearslong diplomatic crisis engulfed Doha had been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
It was further noted that the sentence for Mohammed al-Ghamdi marked the latest in a widening judicial crackdown on any perceived dissent in Saudi Arabia since the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who it was said is “now seen as the kingdom’s day-to-day ruler in place of his 88-year-old father King Salman.”
Furthermore, it was said that. “Al-Ghamdi drew under the pen name Al-Hazza, with some of his cartoons poking fun at challenges during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, as well as touching occasionally on the politics of the Middle East. But political cartoons, like the content of Arabic-language newspapers in the Gulf states, must carefully thread the needle when discussing the region’s autocratic rulers even in the best of times.”
Al-Ghamdi was also said to have been working for the Qatari newspaper Lusail after a long diplomatic boycott of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain had begun in 2017. It was this that had initially been responsible for a prison sentence for al-Ghamdi of “six years from Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court over charges denied by the cartoonist including that his work allegedly insulted the kingdom.”
21 October
In connection with the North East, it was stated in The Guardian on 21 October that it had been reported the previous day that leaked WhatsApp messages which originally came from former Newcastle United minority co-owner Amanda Staveley, suggest that Mohammed bin Salman, was heavily involved in the takeover of the club.
It was also said that, “Staveley, who stepped down from Newcastle’s board in July after selling her shares, brokered the £305mn deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), helping it over the line in October 2021 after the Premier League received legally binding assurances of the separation of the Saudi state and the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.”
It was also noted that Bin Salman is the chairman of PIF and that the leaked messages raised eyebrows when the previous day the Telegraph had published messages which suggested Bin Salman was the main catalyst behind the purchase from the British retail tycoon Mike Ashley and that this also spotlighted the extent of the UK government’s involvement.
It was reported that, “in one reported message Staveley cautions Ashley’s camp that “the Crown Prince is losing patience” and another refers to attempts being made to “convince the Crown Prince not to pull out”. In another she writes: “The UK Saudi ambassador spoke to the Crown Prince this morning.”” It was reported in The Telegraph on 22nd October that Newcastle United’s Saudi Arabia takeover could be re-examined by MPs over The Telegraph’s WhatsApp cache, which had suggested that both the kingdom’s Crown Prince and UK ministers were involved. It was said that Boris Johnson and Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, had both denied that there had been any Government interference prior to the £305 million deal being approved in October 2021.
However, it was reported that, “leaked messages from Amanda Staveley, who brokered the sale, now suggest top-level state interventions from both Saudi Arabia and the UK behind the scenes. WhatsApps sent by Staveley suggest that Salman was signing off key decisions within the takeover, while Lord Grimstone, then minister for investment in the UK, “pushed behind the scenes” for the deal to be approved.“
It was also noted that Ms Staveley had detailed enlisting the help of the Saudi ambassador to the UK to rescue the deal in April 2021. This is despite the fact that the same month Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister, had claimed that his government “was not involved at any point in the takeover talks on the sale of Newcastle” in a written parliamentary answer. The Telegraph noted that it was, “‘unlikely’ Johnson was ‘telling the truth’”
It was further reported that the sale had eventually done through after the Premier League was given “legally binding assurances” that the Saudi state would not be in control of Newcastle. However, “MPs, who had repeatedly raised concerns at the time, reacted with concern to revelations in The Telegraph which shed fresh light on negotiations.” It was also reported by The Telegraph the following day, that more than 100 women’s footballers had urged FIFA to drop a sponsorship deal with Saudi oil giant Aramco, after branding it a “middle finger” to the female game.
Manchester City’s Vivianne Miedema and England defender Niamh Charles were said to be among signatories drawn on a letter saying the deal is “worse than an own goal”. It was also noted that pressure had already been mounting on the governing body’s Saudi ties, with “leading legal figures also warning last week that FIFA has ignored their report on human rights concerns over the 2034 World Cup. FIFA earlier this year announced a partnership with the state-owned firm until 2027 for sponsorship for the next men’s and women’s World Cups”. The players from 24 countries were said to have written the following in a letter, supported by the campaign group Athletes of the World: “Aramco sponsorship is a middle finger to women’s football… FIFA’s announcement of Saudi Aramco as its ‘major’ partner has set us so far back that it’s hard to fully take in. Saudi Aramco is the main money-pump for Saudi Arabia, and is 98.5% state-owned. Saudi authorities have been spending billions in sports sponsorship to try to distract from the regime’s brutal human rights reputation, but its treatment of women speaks for itself.”
22 October
It was reported by Human Rights Watch on 22 October that the United Kingdom High Court had issued an order on October 11, 2024, “granting permission to a Saudi human rights defender who lives in the UK to bring a case that accuses the government of Saudi Arabia of using spyware against him, Human Rights Watch said today. Yahya Assiri, a prominent Saudi human rights defender, says that Saudi authorities targeted him with spyware between 2018 and 2020.”
26 October
On 26 October, it was reported in The Telegraph that tens of thousands of people are, “being subjected to degrading conditions inside Saudi detention centres despite the Kingdom’s promise to reform the way it treats migrant workers.” It was further reported that in 2020, a Telegraph Global Health Security investigation had uncovered the first evidence of widespread abuses inside the facilities, prompting international outcry and a pledge from Riyadh to take action, but “a tranche of new footage smuggled out of the centres housing those awaiting deportation suggests nothing has changed.”
28 October
On 28 October, it was noted in the Mirror that Saudi Arabia has been accused of overseeing the deaths of more than 21,000 workers to complete the country’s £1 trillion 2023 Neom project, according to a new expose. It was said that migrant workers had been allegedly exploited by locals with many employed in construction having gone missing as they labour to complete the Crown Prince’s Saudi Vision 2030 project, while labourers were described as being, “trapped like slaves”.
One worker commented that he often works 16 hour days in a bid to build a high-speed train tunnel for the project and that over the course of a week, he can end up doing about 84 hours, while Saudi Arabian law states no one should work more than 60 hours a week. The migrant worker was quoted as saying: “We’re made to work extremely hard. There is little time to rest. We get tired. We suffer from anxiety day and night. Saudi doesn’t care much for citizens from other countries. We are treated like beggars.”
28 and 29 October
On 28 October, it was also reported in the New York Times that eleven leading human rights organisations had criticised Clifford Chance, a leading global law firm whose Saudi operation produced a 39-page document published by the world football governing body FIFA, claiming it represents a “flawed” assessment of Saudi Arabia as the country bids to host the 2034 World Cup. They also suggest the report risks the company being “linked to abuses which result” from the tournament. It was reported in the Mirror on 29 October that The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), which was said to bankroll LIV Golf and owns Newcastle United, had announced plans to curb its spending. It was noted that the, “PIF has invested billions of pounds in projects across the globe over the past decade, with a particular focus on sport. The strategy has been met with claims of sportswashing, with Saudi Arabia accused of attempting to launder its reputation on the global stage amid concerns over human rights breaches in the kingdom.”
Also on 29 October, the Nigerian Tribune reported that the International Trade Union Confederation Africa (ITUC-Africa) had called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to oppose Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, citing a history of human rights abuses toward migrant workers.
ITUC-Africa, which represents 18 million workers across 52 African nations, were reported as saying that granting the Kingdom hosting rights would condone widespread exploitation of migrant labourers, especially those from Africa. Comrade Akhator Joel Odigie, the ITUC-Africa General Secretary, commented that, “whosoever tramples on the rights of a worker anywhere in the world is directly asking us to speak out and demand justice”.
31 October
On 31 October it was reported in The Guardian that rights groups had claimed that a report by the Saudi arm of a global law firm on Saudi Arabia’s 2034 Fifa World Cup bid had “whitewashed” the Gulf kingdom’s record of exploiting and suppressing the rights of migrant workers. AS&H Clifford Chance had been commissioned to independently assess the human rights implications of the bid, but it was said that the report “contains no substantive discussion of extensive and relevant abuses in Saudi Arabia”. This was according to a statement released by 11 organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation, which commissioned the report, has submitted it to FIFA as part of its bid to host the tournament.
It was also noted that James Lynch, co-director of human rights group FairSquare, called the report “shockingly poor”, saying that S&H Clifford Chance had “helped to remove a key final stumbling block” to awarding the tournament to Saudi Arabia, while “ALQST for Human Rights, a Saudi Arabian diaspora organisation, said it served to “whitewash the reality of abuse and discrimination faced by Saudi Arabia’s citizens and residents””.
Additionally, it was stated that “the report makes little mention of the well-documented and widespread exploitation of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, who will play a key role in building the infrastructure and providing the services needed for the tournament, and who are often subject to a raft of abuses, including the non-payment of wages, false contracts, illegal recruitment fees and sudden deportation.”
Also on 31 October, Human Rights Watch announced that they and a number of other organisations were calling on the Saudi Authorities to end the misuse of Administrative and Judicial Measures Against Released Human Rights Defenders Including Loujain al-Hathloul.
The call was signed by the following organisations:
- ALQST For Human rights
- Access Now
- Amnesty International
- Avaaz
- Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (CDHR)
- Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
- European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR)
- FairSquare
- Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
- Human Rights Watch
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- MENA-T Brazil
- Middle East Democracy Center
- Talayan
So, there is evidence about what was happening concerning Saudi Arabia in October 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, in order to respond to the human rights record of the Saudi regime?
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