“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. (Edmund Burke)
It is now over four 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 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 1-32 of this survey have covered the period from 7th October 2021 to the end of April this year. So, what has been happening regarding Saudi Arabia in May 2026?
Migrants at risk of execution
In late April it was reported by Human Rights Watch that as many as 65 Ethiopian migrants were at risk of imminent execution in Saudi Arabia for drug-related offenses. Saudi authorities had already executed three others on April 21, 2026.
Nadia Hardman, senior refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch commented; “Saudi Arabia’s willingness to execute foreign migrants for nonviolent offences following trials that denied them basic due process reflects a profound disregard for their rights and lives. Saudi Arabia’s partners should urgently intervene before it is too late.”
Call to drop the Kafala migrant worker system
Also in late April, the United Nations reported that experts at the organisation were urging Saudi Arabia to drop the Kafala migrant worker system in the run up to the 2034 World Cup.
The experts commented: “Five years after the encouraging announcement of labour reforms, we continue to receive reports of abuse and labour exploitation of the estimated 16 million migrant workers in the country”.
“Migrant worker deaths have allegedly occurred under unclear circumstances and without accountability,” they said. “Wage theft, workplace violence, retention of identity documents and the imposition of extortionate recruitment fees are all reported to continue. These practices must stop.”
It was further noted that the Kafala system gives employers complete control over migrant workers’ residency, job mobility, travel and crucially legal status. Workers often need their sponsor’s permission to change jobs, access legal help or even leave the country.
Cambridge University links with Saudi regime
It was reported on 11 May that the business school at Cambridge University is seeking to provide “innovation management” and “leadership development” to Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry despite concerns over its government’s record on human rights and climate change.
It was further noted that “Cambridge’s leadership has approved a proposal by the university’s Judge business school to form a “memorandum of understanding” with the ministry for services and training, after an initial introduction by the UK’s Ministry of Defence”.
Cambridge University links with Saudi regime criticised
Following this, on 17 May it was reported that the University of Cambridge has been asked by the families of two scholars facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia to abandon proposals to run staff training courses for Riyadh’s defence ministry.
Chris Smith, Cambridge’s chancellor, and Prof Deborah Prentice, its vice-chancellor, have been called upon by the sons of the two men prosecuted for almost a decade in an attempt to reconsider the proposal.
The letter says that a “prestigious partnership like this risks legitimising [the Saudi crown prince] Mohammed bin Salman’s false narrative of reform, despite evidence of continued human rights abuses. The Saudi authorities executed at least 356 people last year, the most in the kingdom’s modern history.”
Plea for ill British national to be released
On 14 May it was reported that the wife of a British national, had pleaded for his release as his wellbeing declined. He was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia in 2024 for social media posts.
It was further reported that following an eight-month inquiry, the UN working group on arbitrary detention had found Ahmed al-Doush was being detained arbitrarily under international law in November last year. Consequently, they recommended his immediate release, and that compensation be paid to him.
The plea for clemency by his wife, Amaher Nour, which is backed by Amnesty International, was said to be more a personal humanitarian appeal to the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman than actually focused on the nature of Saudi justice or this particular trial.
Nour was said to have commented: “One year and eight months have passed – long enough for us all to feel the weight of absence and the pain of separation. His return to his children has become a hope we hold on to every day. His return would restore stability to his family and give his children the chance to grow up in the care and embrace of their father, instead of living with this painful emptiness during their young years.”
Labour rights abuses
It was noted on 21 May that a report by human rights group FairSquare had documented 23 cases of alleged labour rights abuses among workers employed by Aramco’s contractors and subcontractors in Saudi Arabia. The report, based on the allegations, is said to demonstrate that migrant workers in Aramco’s supply chain “are exposed to serious safety and health risks, and face significant challenges in claiming compensation in the event of injury or death”.
Workers interviewed by FairSquare alleged they also had to put up with serious labour rights violations, which included work shifts of up to 19 hours, exposure to extreme heat, and being housed in what the rights group calls “slum housing”.
FairSquare’s director, Nick McGeehan, commented: “Aramco obviously has a responsibility to protect these workers, but it also has tremendous influence to set standards that flow down its supply chain to hundreds of thousands of workers across Saudi Arabia. The neglect that we see in its supply chain indicates that it takes migrant worker protection no more seriously than the Saudi state.”
Dissidents’ social media accounts blocked
It was reported on 22 May that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms along with other major US social media companies have blocked the accounts of Saudi Arabian dissidents, following orders by Saudi authorities, meaning that they are no longer visible inside the kingdom.
Those affected include Omar Abdulaziz, a Canada and UK-based activist who worked closely with Jamal Khashoggi before the journalist’s murder by Saudi agents in 2018 and Abdullah Alaoudh, a US-based activist and vocal critic of Saudi human rights violations.
As many as seven accounts had been blocked by Meta at the end of April. Two of those accounts belonged to individuals based in Europe, according to the advocacy group American Committee for Middle East Rights (ACMER), who also said that another two belonged to American citizens.
ACMER’s senior policy adviser Abduallah Alaoudh commented: “Meta is effectively doing Saudi Arabia’s dirty work against Americans living in the United States. When a company geo-blocks accounts on behalf of a government with a documented record of silencing dissent, it becomes an instrument of repression. Meta should push back.”
May has turned out to be another month of suffering and hardship for many innocent people in Saudi Arabia. Shouldn’t we remember them and try to help them?
