“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” (Nelson Mandela)
It is now well over two and a half 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 I-8 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 2024?
Young women’s rights activist sentenced secretly
On 1st May, it was reported in the Guardian that a young women’s rights activist in Saudi Arabia had been secretly sentenced to 11 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court following being arrested for “her choice of clothing and support for women’s rights”. It was said that Saudi officials had confirmed in a statement to the United Nations high commissioner for human rights that Manahel al-Otaibi was sentenced on 9 January for what the Saudi government called “terrorist offences”.
Al-Otaibi
It was also noted that Amnesty International and ALQST, a rights group, had called on Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release al-Otaibi and were reported as saying that her imprisonment “directly contradicts authorities’ narrative of reform and women’s empowerment”. Furthermore, Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s campaigner on Saudi Arabia said that “with this sentence the Saudi authorities have exposed the hollowness of their much-touted women’s rights reforms in recent years and demonstrated their chilling commitment to silencing peaceful dissent.”
Tennis fans overlook brutal repression of women
On 5th May Catherine Bennett wrote in The Guardian that, “if a record of sexual apartheid is not the ideal look for a nation that must still, occasionally, placate progressives, news of an extreme example – the lengthy imprisonment of Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old fitness instructor and women’s rights activist – has at least arrived too late to tarnish Saudi Arabia’s latest sporting triumph: buying up the Women’s Tennis Association finals.”
Bennett went on to note that, there could hardly have been a more convenient time for human rights organisations to report the news, as it fitted in neatly with Saudi Arabia’s promotional schedule. Furthermore, Bennett stated that the previous week, “al-Otaibi whose circumstances were for months unknown, is serving 11 years in prison for the “terrorist” offences of wearing “indecent clothes” (i.e., not an abaya) and supporting women’s rights. Her sister, Fouz al-Otaibi, fled the country in 2022 to avoid similar persecution. Fouz tweeted last week: “Why have my rights become terrorism, and why is the world silent?””
Lethal force used
On the 9th May it was reported by the BBC that Saudi authorities had allowed the use of lethal force to clear land for the NEOM desert city being built by dozens of Western companies according to an ex-intelligence officer has told the BBC. It was noted that Col Rabih Alenezi had said that he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Gulf state to make way for The Line, part of the Neom eco-project. It was further noted that, “one of them was subsequently shot and killed for protesting against eviction.” It was also stated that the Saudi government and Neom management had refused to comment.
Giving more details, the BBC sated that, “Col Alenezi, who went into exile in the UK last year, says the clearance order he was asked to enact was for al-Khuraybah, 4.5km south of The Line. The villages were mostly populated by the Huwaitat tribe, who have inhabited the Tabuk region in the country’s north-west for generations.”
With regards to the man killed, it was stated that Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti had refused to allow a land registry committee to value his property and had been shot dead by Saudi authorities a day later, during the clearance mission. It was said that he had “previously posted multiple videos on social media protesting against the evictions.”
Human rights campaigners criticise close relationship of Football club and local authority
On 14th May, it was also reported on the BBC that the close relationship between a Saudi-backed football club and a local authority had been criticised by human rights campaigners. It was noted that BBC File on 4 had discovered that a senior Newcastle City Council officer had written to Newcastle United (NUFC) co-owner Amanda Staveley asking her to lobby government ministers over repairs to the Tyne Bridge when funding from the Department for Transport stalled. It was also noted that, “Saudi Arabia’s human rights record was raised when the club was taken over in 2021, but there are concerns it is being ignored by a council desperate for investment.”
It was further noted that NUFC had “declined to comment” and that the Saudi Embassy in the UK and Ms Staveley had not responded. The council were reported as saying that, “close co-operation with the football club was beneficial for the city”.
It was also stated that the BBC File on 4 had discovered that the council had, “backtracked on plans to create a forum to discuss human rights with supporters and campaigners, which it proposed when the football club was bought by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) in October 2021.”
Oliver Dowden
On 15th May, it was reported by the BBC that Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden had raised allegations with the Saudi government that its forces had been “told to kill” for a futuristic city following a BBC investigation. Neom’s The Line, the desert city, was said to be one of the projects promoted at a UK-hosted event, external in Riyadh, where Mr Dowden was leading a 450-strong delegation on a trade mission to Saudi Arabia.
Amnesty International, a human rights organisation, were reported as saying: “The reality behind such futuristic projects is the brutal repression of citizens and residents.” “Any business that knowingly contributes to human rights harms is in clear violation of international law,” Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Middle East Researcher said.
ALQST said that it appeared that the UK is “increasingly willing to turn a blind eye to the catalogue of Saudi abuses on the ground.” Josh Cooper, deputy director of the organisation ALQST, was reported as saying, “imagine if companies working on Neom made their involvement conditional on the release of local residents arrested for protesting forced eviction? Or if university chancellors withheld Saudi partnerships until detained University of Leeds PhD student Salma al-Shehab was freed? Such steps would have a positive bearing.”
Boxing
On 16th May, The Irish Examiner asked the question: Saudi money has reshaped boxing but how do we justify the human cost? The article went on to note that in what was described as a defining week for Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and boxing, “the glitz of a unifying world heavyweight contest sits uncomfortably against a backdrop of human rights concerns”.
The article went on to quote Saeed al-Ghamdi who was described as far more politically outspoken than his brother, who has been arrested for what were described as “a few tweets …. criticising the increase in milk prices”. Saeed al-Ghamdi argued that “repression in Saudi Arabia has not diminished. It’s increasing. Manahel al-Otaibi was sentenced to 11 years in prison for charges that the authorities say are related to ‘terrorism’. Most of the peaceful detainees are charged with terrorism. The so-called terrorism law is written in a way that is not Islamically or legally correct because it is broad and vague.”
The article ended as follows: “Of course the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world will not be derailed by a sudden fit of political conscience. There is too much money and personal glory at stake. But, in the heat and tumult of fight week, the grim and mostly silent fate of Mohammad al-Ghamdi, Manahel al-Otaibi and other political prisoners in Saudi Arabia remains unchanged.”
Saudi Arabia concert
On 20th May a story was reported in multiple media outlets including ABC News describing a concert in Saudi Arabia with, “an all-women psychedelic rock band (jamming) out as its conservative society loosens up.” The report went on to describe how, “as Saudi Arabia liberalizes some aspects of its society, an all-women psychedelic rock band that recently performed in the kingdom’s capital is an example showing some Saudi women are now finding their voice through the arts”. The piece described how, leaning into the microphone in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Nora had let loose a primal scream, while guitars wailed, and drums throbbed behind her as part of a set with her bandmates during a recent show.
It was further noted that, “the performance by Seera, an all-women psychedelic rock band that blends traditional Arabic melodies with the resurgent psychedelia of bands like Tame Impala, would have been unthinkable just years earlier in the kingdom. But as Saudi Arabia liberalizes some aspects of its society, Seera represents the way women now are finding their voice and expressing themselves through the arts in a nation long associated with ultraconservative Islam and the strict separation of the sexes.”
Meesh, the band’s bassist was quoted as saying: “We didn’t know how people would react. We believe strongly in self-expression. To our surprise, they really had open arms for us.” It was also noted that the band’s name, Seera, can mean “life” or “biography” in Arabic and that, “band members say they try to embrace the multiple meanings one can draw from a word in the language in its sound, whether through the driving drums and cymbals or the synthesizer backing the guitars.”
FIFA
On 23rd May, it was reported in The Independent that FIFA had been urged by international lawyers on 22nd May, to uphold its own policy and scrutinize Saudi Arabia’s human rights record before picking the country to host the men’s 2034 World Cup. It was said that “a 22-page document was delivered to FIFA headquarters in Zurich on behalf of Mark Pieth and Stefan Wehrenberg of Switzerland and British barrister Rodney Dixon. They offered to work with FIFA on an action plan and monitoring of Saudi Arabia by independent experts.”
Furthermore, it was noted that the paper by international lawyers, calls on FIFA to use its influence now with Saudi Arabia to comply with international human rights standards that the world soccer body’s own policy since 2017 has required of tournament hosts. The document states: “It is obvious that Saudi Arabia falls very far short of those requirements. Given this, as matters currently stand, FIFA simply cannot properly permit it to host the 2034 World Cup.” Saudi Arabia’s record on freedom of expression and assembly, treatment of prisoners and migrant workers, and male guardianship laws that limit personal freedoms for women were all cited in the paper.
So, there is evidence about what was happening concerning Saudi Arabia in May 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?
