Share
Share
Saudi Arabia Human Rights
Faced with rising calls for political reform, Saudi Arabian authorities have responded with repressive measures against those suspected of taking part in or supporting protests or expressing views critical of the state. Protesters have been held without charge and incommunicado for days or weeks at a time, and some are reported to have been tortured and otherwise ill-treated. Nearly 20 people connected with protests in the Eastern Province have been killed since 2011 and hundreds have been imprisoned.
Other human rights concerns include the death penalty, with more than 2,000 people executed between 1985 and 2013; the arrest, imprisonment and harassment of large members of the Shi’a Muslim community and other minority groups; long-standing exploitation and abuse of migrant workers by private and state employers; and continued discrimination against women in law and practice.
Relevant Links
Saudi Arabia Newsroom
December 6, 2019 • Press Release
Saudi Arabia Must End Ill-Treatment and Arbitrary Detention of Human Rights Defender, Waleed Abu Al-Khair
Amnesty International has received credible reports that Saudi Arabian prison authorities arbitrarily placed human rights defender and prisoner of conscience Waleed Abu al-Khair in solitary confinement and under tightened security. Waleed was placed in solitary confinement in Dhahban Prison near Jeddah on November 26 and for the past week, has been held incommunicado, put through torture and other ill-treatment.
November 12, 2019 • Press Release
Categorizing Feminism, Atheism, Homosexuality as Crimes Exposes Saudi Arabia’s Dangerous Intolerance
Responding to an official announcement and a promotional video published by Saudi Arabia’s state security agency which categorizes feminism, homosexuality and atheism as ‘extremist ideas,’ Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director, said:
October 1, 2019 • Press Release
One Year After Khashoggi Killing, Saudi Activists Honor His Legacy by Continuing to Fight for Freedom of Expression
One year since the extrajudicial execution of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi citizens are honoring Khashoggi’s legacy by pursuing the fight for their inalienable right to freely express themselves, despite the authorities’ continuing crackdown and the absence of any meaningful signal to hold accountable those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi’s killing, Amnesty International said today.
September 20, 2019 • Press Release
MEDIA ADVISORY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA TO MARK ANNIVERSARY OF JAMAL KHASHOGGI KILLING
October 2, 2019 marks one year since Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist who went into self-exile in the United States, entered into a Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain marriage documents, never to be seen again. Questions still remain about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and a credible, transparent investigation into the full truth …
June 19, 2019 • Press Release
Saudi Arabia: UN findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s murder highlight need for independent criminal investigation to uncover the truth
Responding to the release of the UN report on the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which concludes that he was the victim of “an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible under human rights law,” and that “there is credible evidence, warranting further investigation of high-level Saudi officials’ individual liability, including the Crown Prince’s,” Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Research, said:
June 17, 2019 • Press Release
Saudi Arabia: Decision to spare teenager’s life must be followed by abolition of death penalty for all juveniles
Responding to the news that Murtaja Qureiris, the young man from Saudi Arabia arrested at the age of 13, will not face execution and has been sentenced to 12 years in prison instead, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director Lynn Maalouf said the following:
May 24, 2019 • Press Release
Congress Must Not Allow Arms Transfers to Saudi Coalition
Responding to reports that President Trump will attempt to exploit loopholes to continue sending arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE without Congressional approval, Philippe Nassif, the advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA said the following.
April 9, 2019 • Press Release
Independent UN Investigation Only Path to Accountability for Khashoggi Killing
While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that 16 Saudis would be barred form entering the United States in response to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Amnesty International reiterated its call for an independent investigation into his death. Philippe Nassif, the Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA, …
April 2, 2019 • Press Release
Saudi Arabia: Six months after the brutal killing of Jamal Khashoggi, there remains ‘no real signs of justice’
Marking six months since the shocking murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Samah Hadid, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Campaigns, said:
March 28, 2019 • Press Release
Saudi Arabia: Provisional release of three women activists a positive step, but bogus charges must be dropped
Responding to the release of three Saudi women activists, Iman al-Nafjan, Aziza al-Yousef and Ruqayyaa al-Mhareb, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Research, said: “The release from jail of Iman al-Najfan, Aziza al-Yousef and Ruqayyah al-Mhareb, who will finally be able to return to their homes and loved ones after their 10-month ordeal of arbitrary …