It is now over 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 murderous regime, responsible for starting illegal wars and 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 1-14 of this survey have covered the period from 7th October 2021 to the end of October this year. So, what has been happening regarding Saudi Arabia in November 2024?
Tennis and woman rights talks
On 2nd November, it was reported in the Mail that before Coco Gauff competed in the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia, the American tennis star said that she had held discussions with some of the country’s leaders on their controversial human rights record. Gauff was noted as saying that she had met with Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud – who serves as the Saudi Ambassador to the United States – to discuss the treatment of women in the country.
Gauff told reporters on 1st November that, “we spoke with a lot of women here in Saudi. One of them was Princess Reema. Multiple calls with her, how the best approach would be to enter into this different place that women have never kind of, women from the U.S., have never kind of been in. I think for me it was important, and it was one of the questions I brought up because about LGBTQ issues, women’s rights issues, how we can help with that.”
The Line Project allegations
On the same day, 2nd November, it was reported on Reason that Saudi Arabia’s ‘The Line’ Violates Human Rights and Common Sense. It was claimed that Saudi Arabia’s The Line project is a “massive violation of good urban design principles and human rights.”
It was further reported that a growing chorus of workers, whistleblowers, and human rights organizations had stated that that the ongoing construction of The Line—which is supposed to be a 100-mile-long skyscraper upon completion—has been marred by inhumane labour practices, worker deaths, and the forced eviction of thousands of nearby villagers.
Additionally, it was said that The Line workers had told an ITV documentary crew that they had been forced to work 16-hour shifts weeks in a row, resulting in mounting workplace accidents and even deaths. It was also said that, “in September, The Wall Street Journal published an investigation finding that The Line executives had reacted with callousness and casual racism when informed of multiple worker deaths that occurred because of unsafe conditions. The Journal also found a pattern of self-dealing and corruption allegations among top executives. Upwards of 6,000 villagers have been forced from their homes near The Line construction site, reported the BBC earlier this year. Saudi human rights watchdogs say that dozens of people who’ve protested the evictions have been given prison sentences ranging from 15 to 50 years, and at least five protestors have been sentenced to death.”
Women sports in the kingdom
On 6th November, it was reported by ABC Sport that while the world’s best female tennis players were taking to the court in Riyadh for the “crown jewel” event of the year, a young fitness instructor was languishing in a Saudi prison. It was noted that, ”Manahel al-Otaibi, 30, was sentenced to 11 years in jail in a secret trial in January for “terrorism offences” relating to social media posts in support of women’s rights.”
Manahel’s arrest was said to have shocked and frightened her older sister, Fawzia al-Otaibi who said: “I feel terrible to see my sister is in a prison, and the other women from outside came to play [tennis],” she said.
It was noted that the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) finals were being played in Saudi Arabia that week and this was the first professional women’s tennis event to be held in the Gulf nation as part of a three-year deal. The move was said to have “divided the tennis world.”
It was claimed that “some say the WTA should boycott the country until it improves its human rights record, particularly for women and LGBT groups. Critics highlight that women still live under male guardianship laws in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is illegal and can be punishable by death. Others, however, point to the progress that has been made and suggest the sport can have a positive impact in the kingdom.” Meanwhile Saudi women were reported as pleading to the women’s tennis players for them not to be silent about human rights issues.
Mass worker casualties and harsh working conditions
On 9th November it was reported in The Mirror that it had been revealed that more than 20,000 workers had died making Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision for Saudi Arabia in the last eight years. It was noted that a new ITV undercover documentary had highlighted migrant workers’ stories revealing gruelling conditions, unpaid wages and claims of abuse of human rights. It was said that “many claimed they felt “trapped like slaves” as they worked 16-hour days for 14 days straight on a multi-billion pound Neom project. This includes The Line – a 170 km-long linear city, which is said to have a 140,000-strong migrant workforce.”
Additionally, it was stated that the Middle East Eye had reported how, “in addition to their gruelling shifts, workers face a three-hour unpaid bus journey to the desert construction site, leaving them with barely four hours of sleep. One said: “We’re made to work extremely hard. There is little time to rest. We get tired. We suffer from anxiety day and night.” Another worker added: “Saudi doesn’t care much for citizens from other countries. We are treated like beggars.”
Labour and Sports
It was reported by Amnesty International on 11th November that Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance were calling for FIFA to halt the process to select Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 men’s World Cup unless “major human rights reforms are announced before a vote of FIFA members next month”. Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport, said that “there will be a real and predictable human cost to awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without obtaining credible guarantees of reform.”
Complications with Neom
On 12th November it was reported on Middle East Eye that the chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city, Neom, had left his role, along with several other executives. They were said to have mocked Islam and fought with at least one employee, according to a report on Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal. CEO Nadhmi al-Nasr, who had managed Neom’s construction since 2018, departed from his post in recent days, leaving while the project is plagued with uncertainty.
It was further noted that, “the kingdom has had to scale back Neom, originally billed as a $1.5 trillion megacity project, which organisers claim will eventually be 33 times the size of New York City and include a 170 km straight-line city known as “The Line”. Instead of 1.5 million people living in the city by 2030, Saudi officials now anticipate fewer than 300,000 residents. Meanwhile, only 2.4km of the city will be completed by 2030. Nasr earned a chilling reputation managing Neom. He bragged that he drove everyone “like a slave”, adding, “When they drop down dead, I celebrate. That’s how I do my projects.”
Foreigner executions reach an all time high
On 18th November it was reported in the Metro that so far this year, 101 foreigners had been executed in Saudi Arabia. The NGO Reprieve was reported as saying that this is the highest number ever, according to a human rights group.
It was further reported that “the latest execution, on Saturday 16th in the southwestern region of Najran, was of a Yemeni national convicted of smuggling drugs into the Gulf kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency reported, bringing the number of foreigners executed in the Middle Eastern country to 101. It was noted that this is almost three times the number last year and in 2022, according to tallies compiled by news agency AFP.
Jeed Basyouni, who heads Middle East anti-death penalty advocacy for the NGO Reprieve, was reported as saying that, “ overall, including Saudi nationals in the figures, the number of executions in the country was on track to exceed 300 for the year .‘This is an unprecedented execution crisis in Saudi Arabia. ‘Families of foreign nationals on death row are understandably terrified that their loved one will be next.’”
Meanwhile, Taha al-Hajji, legal director at Berlin-based European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) was reported as saying that: “This is the largest number of executions of foreigners in one year. Saudi Arabia has never executed 100 foreigners in a year.”
Additionally, it was said that, “the country has faced ongoing criticism of its use of the death penalty, which human rights groups say is excessive and out of step with efforts to soften its forbidding image and welcome international tourists and investors. The oil-rich nation executed the third-highest number of prisoners in the world after China and Iran in 2023, according to Amnesty International.”
On 18th November, NDTV World published an explanation of why Saudi Arabia was executing so many foreign citizens, quoting Taha al-Hajji, the legal director of the European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) : “Foreigners are the most vulnerable group. They are often victims of major drug dealers and subjected to a series of violations from the moment of their arrest until their execution.”
On 19th November Khaama Press, based in Afghanistan reported that according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday, November 17, the number of executions in Saudi Arabia had tripled compared to the past two years. Khaama Press went on to note that, “The report highlights that those executed include 21 Pakistani citizens, 20 Yemenis, 14 Syrians, 10 Nigerians, 9 Egyptians, 8 Jordanians, 7 Ethiopians, 3 Sudanese, 3 Indians, 3 Afghans, and 1 individual each from Sri Lanka, Eritrea, and the Philippines.”
On the Saudi Crown Prince
On 20th November, Human Rights watch released a 95-page report titled “The Man Who Bought the World: Rights Abuses Linked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Its Chairman, Mohammed bin Salman.” The report explains that Saudi Arabia’s vast fossil fuel-derived state wealth is effectively controlled by one person, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Human Rights Watch also found that the crown prince wields this enormous economic power in a largely arbitrary and highly personalized manner rather than for the Saudi people’s benefit and that the PIF is used to whitewash the Saudi government’s abuses.
Human Rights Watch states that “Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has unchecked control over the country’s nearly trillion dollar Public Investment Fund,” said Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The crown prince has used the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s economic power, which includes owning Newcastle United, to commit serious human rights violations and whitewash the reputational harm from these abuses.”
The twitter leaks that endangered civilians
Also on 20th November, The Guardian reported that a prominent Saudi dissident who had worked closely with Jamal Khashoggi had said that he would pursue further legal action against X after a US appeals court had said that a 2014 security breach of the company – then known as Twitter – by agents of Saudi Arabia caused him injury. It was further noted that, “private identifying information about Omar Abdulaziz, who lives in Canada and has been an outspoken critic of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, was obtained by the Saudi government after Riyadh recruited two Twitter employees to access information about dissidents – including those who used anonymous accounts to criticize the kingdom.”
Additionally, it was said that the breach, which occurred about ten years ago and compromised about 6,000 accounts, had been discovered in 2018 and had devastating consequences for Abdulaziz, including the imprisonment of his family members in Saudi Arabia. It was stated that, “Saudi agents also obtained Abdulaziz’s mobile phone number, which was used by the kingdom – Citizen Lab researchers later reported – to hack Abdulaziz using NSO Group spyware at a time when he was in close contact with Khashoggi. The journalist was killed months later.”
Warnings against Neom
Again, on 20th November, Dezeen reported that Human Rights organisation ALQST had highlighted the environmental and human rights concerns surrounding Saudi mega project Neom in a briefing paper that included a report on a migrant worker’s death. Titled ‘Neom: a human rights and environmental impact assessment’, the briefing document was said to have been created to give companies working on the project, or considering working on the project, information about the reported human rights and environmental concerns.
“This briefing seeks to factcheck the Neom PR machine and inform businesses engaged in or considering involvement in the project of the serious risks, urging them to use the leverage at their disposal to speak out against the related rights abuses,” ALQST project officer Celia Le Noe told Dezeen. “Our research indeed reveals many additional concerns, from labour rights abuses, highlighted by the death of a worker on a construction site, to the devastating environmental impact”.
On 23rd November Newsweek reported that companies which were involved in the construction of several Saudi Arabian megaprojects had been called on to examine their relationship with the nation amid significant human rights abuse allegations. It was said that “Human rights organization ALQST released a report warning that companies working with the biggest construction projects in Saudi Arabia, which includes several American firms, run the risk of “political and reputational risks” as the projects face allegations of dangerous conditions and abuse of migrant workers.”
Starmer visiting Saudi Arabia
On 25th November, Middle East Eye reported that prominent left-wing members of the Labour Party had called on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to challenge Saudi Arabia on its human rights record, as he was preparing to visit the kingdom next month in a push for fresh investment. It was reported that Starmer is to seek investment from sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), linked to a series of human rights abuses – including the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
In response, Labour MP Clive Lewis was reported as telling The Guardian that, “there should be a couple of items on the agenda. One will be their human rights record domestically. The second will be the issue of Yemen. Third will be oil production, and where they’re investing their sovereign wealth fund around the world.” Meanwhile it was also noted that John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, who now sits as an independent MP was reported as saying: “Of course we want economic relations with a whole range of countries, but at the same time we have to be prime advocates across the world in standing up for human rights”.
FIFA whitewash allegations
Finally, it was reported in the Independent on the last day of November that FIFA had been accused of an “astonishing whitewash” over Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid. It was noted that the Middle East kingdom had been given a record score in a FIFA evaluation report published late on Friday, paving the way for its hosting of the finals in 12 years’ time to be rubber stamped at the FIFA Congress on December 11, where it is the sole bidder. The Saudi bid was deemed medium risk on human rights criteria, despite warnings from Amnesty International that “migrant workers will die in preparing the country to host the tournament without huge reform.”
So, there is evidence about what was happening concerning Saudi Arabia in November 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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