As the largest country economically and the most populous state in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia’s policies significantly affect the policies of its neighbors. Since the 2011 Arab Spring popular protests around the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Saudi Arabia has used its influence to lead the counterrevolutionary charge, and worked assiduously[…]
On Tuesday, 13 December, U.S. officials announced they would block the $350 million sale of air munitions to Saudi Arabia, citing the high civilian death toll from the kingdom’s intervention in Yemen. Media outlets were quick to cover the announcement, which followed months of increased tension between the two allies over the war. However, the[…]
On 20 December, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Defense Secretary Michael Fallon admitted that Saudi Arabian forces had used British-made cluster bombs in Yemen. Fallon’s admission before the House of Commons came after a government analysis concluded that the Saudi-led coalition had definitively used UK-manufactured cluster munitions in its ongoing intervention in Yemen. It also comes[…]
On 13 December 2016, the United States blocked some arms sales to Saudi Arabia over concerns of civilian casualties in the kingdom’s participation in the conflict in Yemen. The United Kingdom (UK) has refused to follow the United States’ lead, with Prime Minister Theresa May rejecting calls to end some weapons sales. Her rejection comes[…]
In October, five Saudi prison officers physically assaulted and beat Dawood al-Marhoon, the 21-year-old Saudi inmate arbitrarily detained on death row, for filing a complaint over his mistreatment in prison. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) condemns this reprisal by Saudi authorities against Dawood. ADHRB calls on the Saudi government to immediately[…]