Starting on 4 November 2017, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) arrested over 200 high profile princes, officials, and businessmen in an anti-corruption purge and detained them at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. After holding them for three months without trial or charge, MBS released over 100 detainees. However, in order to secure[…]
02
Feb
Feb
Although Saudi Arabia’s seat on the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council does not expire until 2019, several British lawyers have recently launched a campaign calling for the kingdom’s removal from the Council. The two lawyers, Rodney Dixon QC and Lord Kenneth Donald John Macdonald said that the removal of Saudi Arabia would “act as[…]
24
Jan
Jan
A recent report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) states that Saudi Arabia may have committed acts during the ongoing war in Yemen that amount to war crimes. During the conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels, HRW has documented 87 apparently unlawful attacks by the coalition, killing nearly 1,000 Yemeni civilians. HRW also[…]
14
Dec
Dec
In late October, Saudi Arabia granted a robot, called Sophia, citizenship, making it the first robot in the world to officially become the citizen of a state. However, the decision to grant Sophia the privileges of a Saudi national has engendered sharp criticism concerning the kingdom’s treatment of women, in particular the continued imposition of[…]
04
Dec
Dec
**Update 23 April 2019 – Today, the Saudi government carried out the executions of 37 men, including Munir Al Adam. His case had drawn the attention of UN bodies, including Special Procedures (SAU 5/2016 and SAU 7/2017), and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) issued a decision on his case finding Saudi Arabia in violation of its[…]
