Saudi Arabia’s rulers failed to persuade the world in 2020 that their reform programme was tackling human rights concerns, as violations and repression went on unabated, ALQST’s latest report concludes.

"Abuses Under Scrutiny: Human Rights in Saudi Arabia", this year’s in-depth annual report of London-based ALQST for Human Rights, is based on the group’s exceptional access to sources on the ground within the country, and is published today. It documents and discusses key human rights developments in 2020, including:

• the Saudi authorities’ bid to use their G20 presidency to gloss over human rights abuses and attract foreign investment, set against the international community’s growing unwillingness to accept business as usual;
• widespread ill-treatment amounting to torture of prisoners of conscience, including the death in custody of pioneering human rights activist Abdullah al-Hamid as a result of deliberate medical neglect;
• the first jail sentences passed on women’s rights activists under counter-terrorism legislation, after protracted and unfair trials;
• a sharp reduction in the number of executions carried out, and whether this points to a welcome new trend or is simply a side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic;
• the “conclusion” of a sham trial for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, leaving justice undone and those responsible not held accountable;
• the fatal shooting by security forces of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti as he protested forced evictions of his community to make way for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Neom megacity project; and
• the continuing practice of arbitrary arrests, detentions and enforced disappearances for trivial or often unknown reasons.

“The Saudi authorities’ determination to continue trashing human rights and basic freedoms, despite their claims to be bringing about reform, has been underlined by their repressive actions over the past year,” ALQST Executive Director Alaa Al-Siddiq commented. “At least until they release all prisoners whose only crime was to call for those very freedoms and reforms, the authorities’ fine words cannot be taken seriously.”

You can watch or join members of the ALQST team discussing live the report’s findings and the prospects for 2021 at its launch event on Thursday 28 January 2021 at 17:00 GMT. For media inquiries: contact@alqst.org