It is now going on for five years since the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and since then North East Bylines has been regularly documenting what has happened in the country 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 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 I-33 of this series covered the period from 7 October 2021 to the end of May this year. We’ll now take a look at June 2026.
Saudi Aramco seen as destroying the planet
A report issued on 1 June by FairSquare, Fossil Free Football, Reclame Fossielvrij, and Badvertising, argues that the commercial deal between FIFA and Saudi Aramco was arguably “the most dangerous example of the advertising of fossil fuels and sponsorship ever seen”. The report demonstrates clearly how football is being used as a branding vehicle for Saudi Aramco, who are the world’s biggest corporate polluter. It also explains why this deal is a serious threat to life on earth and what people can do about it.
Newcastle City Council
It was reported on 15 June that the new leader of Newcastle City Council, Colin Ferguson had commented about the Saudi PIF ownership of Newcastle United:
“We are always going to need to have a productive relationship with [the football club’s] local leadership, that is pretty clear. When it comes to human rights abuses and breaches of international law, then I will not be shy in calling that out.
“But we also have to recognise where the council sits in all of this. We don’t have any control over who owns the club, there is not really anything we can do about that.
“So, I will not be shy about calling out things that I think are wrong if it comes to it. But the ownership of the club is the ownership of the club.””,
Amnesty International Report 2025
Meanwhile, the Amnesty International Report for 2025 has noted a number of trends in the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. The report states that Saudi Arabia put more people to death last year than in any other given year. It additionally noted that people were executed for a number of different crimes including drug related offences which often involved foreign nationals.
At least two Saudi men were put to death for crimes they allegedly committed when they were children.
All the while, the Saudi regime has continued to severely restrict freedom of association and expression, even though there was a series of releases for individuals arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Overall, the regime severely restricted freedom of expression and association resulting in human rights defenders and other critics having to undergo grossly unfair trials and facing long prison terms and arbitrary travel bans. Some of the trouble bans have been given to those recently released from detention.
The Kafala (sponsorship) system remains in place for migrant workers including domestic workers, who are bound by it and continued to face exploitation, abuse and must deportations.
The role of women continued to be undermined, as they were treated as second class citizens facing discrimination in law and practise.
As the temperature continue to increase and records broken, and the Climate Crisis deepens, Saudi Arabia also failed to take adequate measures to ensure but the people in the country had the right to a healthy environment.
June has been another month of suffering and hardship for many innocent people in Saudi Arabia. Shouldn’t we remember them and try to help them?
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