At least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers were killed by Saudi Arabian authorities at the Yemen-Saudi border; these killings may qualify as crimes against humanity. Authorities in Saudi Arabia have arrested human rights campaigners, public intellectuals, and nonviolent dissidents.
They have also condemned people to death or decades in jail over postings they made on social media. Abusive behaviors are still common in detention institutions. These practices include lengthy arbitrary incarceration, asset seizure without a clear legal process, and torture and other cruel treatment. Regarding its alleged involvement in war crimes in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has not faced any consequences.
Freedom of Expression and Press
Widespread persecution under de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, seriously undermines announced legislative changes. Authorities funded ostentatious sports and entertainment organizations, celebrities, and events in order to sully their reputation tarnished by a dismal human rights record.
Through an announced agreement on June 6, the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have effectively enabled the Saudi government’s efforts to “sportswash” its egregious human rights record. This agreement gives the government unprecedented influence and control over an entire sport, professional golf. Numerous Saudi human rights advocates and defenders are still serving lengthy prison terms for opposing political and human rights reforms or criticizing the government.
Women’s Rights
Women’s rights activists Loujain al-Hathloul, Nassimah al-Sadah, and Samar Badawi are among those who continue to be prohibited from traveling and have suspended prison terms, which gives the government the power to send them back to jail for any alleged criminal behavior. Charges pertaining to peaceful expression or action kept human rights advocate Mohammed al-Rabea, humanitarian worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, and human rights attorney Waleed Abu al-Khair incarcerated.
Saudi authorities are aggressively pursuing non-Saudi and Saudi social media users who engage in peaceful online speech, punishing them with life sentences or even the death penalty. Muhammad al-Ghamdi, 54, a retired Saudi teacher, was found guilty of many crimes on July 10, 2023, by the Specialized Criminal Court, Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism tribunal, based only on his peaceful expression on the internet. Using his YouTube activities, retweets, and tweets as evidence, the court condemned him to death.
Migrant Workers’ Rights
Between March 2022 and June 2023, at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers were slain by Saudi border guards trying to enter the Yemen-Saudi border. Human Rights Watch discovered that in a widespread and organized pattern of attacks, Saudi border guards shot migrants at close range, including several women and children, and used explosive devices to kill them. Saudi border officers have occasionally shot refugees at close range after asking which limb they should kill. These killings, which seem to be ongoing, would be crimes against humanity if they were carried out in accordance with a Saudi official strategy to kill migrants. The economy of Saudi Arabia is largely dependent on migrant labor. Saudi Arabia is home to around 13.4 million migrants, or 41.6 percent of the country’s total population, according to its 2022 census.
Technology and Rights
Microsoft declared in February 2023 that it will invest in a cloud data center in Saudi Arabia in order to provide enterprise cloud services, despite the government’s well-documented history of gaining access to technological platforms and its continuous repression at home.
Companies that pledge to protect users’ privacy rights face challenges due to Saudi Arabian authorities’ appalling record on human rights, which includes their infiltration of X, the social media platform that was formerly known as Twitter, to spy on dissidents and their use of sophisticated digital surveillance technology to target political dissidents and human rights activists. The new data protection legislation and executive directives in Saudi Arabia pose a serious threat to privacy rights since they provide government entities broad access to personal data. Data-controlling businesses are allowed to share data with state authorities for ambiguous and wide “security reasons,” as defined by law.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Women human rights defenders are being prosecuted; the Specialized Criminal Court is still violating due process; there are more executions occurring; discrimination against women is being formalized with a new Personal Status Law; migrant workers are still being arbitrarily detained and forcibly deported; thousands of residents are being forced to leave their homes as part of a plan to develop Jeddah; and the Saudi-led coalition is violating Yemeni law.