Human rights in Saudi Arabia are a topic of concern and controversy. Known for its executions of political protesters and opponents, the government of the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

has been accused of and denounced by various international organizations and governments for violating

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

within the country. An absolute monarchy under the

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling ...

, the government is consistently ranked among the "worst of the worst" in

Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

's annual survey of political and civil rights and was in 2023 ranked as the world's most authoritarian regime.Coppedge, Michael, John Gerring, Carl Henrik Knutsen, Staffan I. Lindberg, Jan Teorell, Nazifa Alizada, David Altman, Michael Bernhard, Agnes Cornell, M. Steven Fish, Lisa Gastaldi, Haakon Gjerløw, Adam Glynn, Allen Hicken, Garry Hindle, Nina Ilchenko, Joshua Krusell, Anna Lührmann, Seraphine F. Maerz, Kyle L. Marquardt, Kelly McMann, Valeriya Mechkova, Juraj Medzihorsky, Pamela Paxton, Daniel Pemstein, Josefine Pernes, Johannes von Römer, Brigitte Seim, Rachel Sigman, Svend-Erik Skaaning, Jeffrey Staton, Aksel Sundström, Eitan Tzelgov, Yi-ting Wang, Tore Wig, Steven Wilson and Daniel Ziblatt. 2021. "V-Dem ountry–Year/Country–DateDataset v11.1" Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project. https://doi.org/10.23696/vdemds21. The regime works to

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

its record of human rights abuses. For example, it has for more than a decade employed the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

organization Qorvis

MSLGroup MSLGROUP is a public relations (PR) network of companies. Specialists in strategic communications and engagement, the company is part of the French multinational Publicis Groupe. It evolved as a merger of Publicis Consultants and Manning Selva ...

, a U.S. subsidiary of

Publicis Groupe Publicis Groupe S.A. is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. As of 2024, the company is the largest advertising company in the world by revenue. Based in Paris, it is one of the 'Big Four' advertising commpanies, al ...

Background

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

is an absolute monarchy in which all

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

, and

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

power ultimately rests in the hands of the

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, who is both head of state and head of government. The 1992 Basic Law sets out the system of governance, rights of citizens, and powers and duties of the government, and it provides that the Quran and Sunnah (the traditions of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

) serve as the country's constitution.

Political freedom

The 1990s marked a slow period of political liberalization in the kingdom as the government created a written constitution, and the advisory '' Consultative Council'', the latter being an appointed delegation of Saudi scholars and professionals that are allowed to advise the king. Some political dissidents were released from prison, after agreeing to disband their political parties. In 2005, adult male citizens were allowed to vote for some municipal seats, although plans for future elections, which may include adult women, have been put on hold indefinitely. Political parties are banned, but some political dissidents were freed in the 1990s on the condition that they disband their political parties. Today, only the

Green Party of Saudi Arabia The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a Unitary state, unitary absolute monarchy, along traditional Islamic state, Islamist lines, where the King of Saudi Arabia, King is both the head of state and head of government, gover ...

remains, although it is an illegal organization. Trade unions are also banned, but the government has granted permission for Saudi citizens to form some private societies, which are allowed to do some humanitarian work within the kingdom. Public demonstrations or any public act of dissent are forbidden. In April 2011, during the

2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests The protests in Saudi Arabia were part of the Arab Spring that started with the 2011 Tunisian revolution. Protests started with a self-immolation in Samtah and Jeddah street protests in late January 2011. Protests against anti-Shia discrimina ...

, the kingdom made it a crime to publish any criticism harming the reputation of government or religious leaders, or which harms the interests of the state. According to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

annual report 2016,

continued to prosecute pro-reform activists and dissidents. Saudi Arabia's terrorism court sentenced Waleed Abu al-Khair, prominent activist, to 15 years. He was convicted on charges concerning his peaceful criticism of the human rights situation in his country. In July, authorities arrested Zuhair Kutbi, an activist, because of his discussion to a peaceful reform in media. In September 2015, all of banned –Saudi Civil Political Rights Association (ACPRA) founders were jailed.

Political prisoners

Dissidents have been detained as

political prisoners in Saudi Arabia Dissidents have been detained as political prisoners in Saudi Arabia during the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s and earlier. Protests and sit-ins calling for political prisoners to be released took place during the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests in ...

during the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and earlier. Protests and

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s calling for political prisoners to be released took place during the

in many cities throughout Saudi Arabia, with security forces firing live bullets in the air on 19 August 2012 at a protest at al-Ha'ir Prison. , recent estimates of the number of political prisoners in

Mabahith The General Directorate of Investigations (), commonly known simply as the Mabahith, is the secret police agency of the Presidency of State Security in Saudi Arabia, and deals with domestic security and counter-intelligence. The officers of the ...

prisons range from an estimate of zero by the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

to 30,000 by the UK-based

Islamic Human Rights Commission The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is a non-profit organisation based in London. Its stated mission is to "champion the rights & duties revealed for human beings" and to "promote a new social ndinternational order, based on truth, j ...

and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Allegedly Khashoggi was not the only dissident on Saudi's list to be abducted. Another Saudi prince, Khaled bin Farhan al-Saud, living in exile in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, told ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' that a similar kidnapping was planned against him by the Saudi authorities 10 days prior. "Over 30 times the Saudi authorities have told me to meet them in the Saudi embassy but I have refused every time. I know what can happen if I go into the embassy. Around 10 days before Jamal went missing they asked my family to bring me to Cairo to give me a cheque. I refused," said Saud. Five other royals, grandsons of King Abdul-Aziz were detained, when they raised their voice about Khashoggi's disappearance. In August 2018, a prominent Saudi cleric, Ahmed al-Amari, was detained by the Saudi authorities over the allegations of being associated with scholar and Saudi royal family critic Safar al-Hawali. Amari was held in solitary confinement since then. In January 2019, Amari died suffering a brain hemorrhage. In November 2019, the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that about eight citizens of

were detained within two weeks for making critical comments against the kingdom. Rights groups have condemned the act by calling it an escalation of an ongoing crackdown on dissent. On 2 September 2020, the family of Saad al-Jabri revealed that Saudi Arabia had arrested Salem Almuzaini, the son-in-law of Saad al-Jabri, who accused Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

of sending a hit squad to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to kill him. On 28 December 2020, the Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced a prominent Saudi women's rights activist to nearly two years in prison, drawing renewed attention to the kingdom's human rights abuses. On 8 June 2021 Saudi court sentenced a Sudanese media personality and journalist, Ahmad Ali Abdelkader, 31, to four years in prison. This ruling against him came forth since his tweets and media interviews openly discussed and expressed support for Sudan's 2018-19 revolution, and criticized Saudi actions in Sudan and Yemen. On 22 November 2021, Saudi authorities confirmed that they had detained Prince Salman (Ghazalan) Al Saud, and his father, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Muhammed, in an unofficial detention site without charges. The two men were arrested in January 2018 by a special Saudi security force, al-Saif al-Ajrab Brigade, as part of a broad purge of prominent royal family members, government officials, and influential business people, set up by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The father and son were disappeared in November 2020, and were held incommunicado until late October 2021. Abuses against the two men were documented, along with the conditions of their detention.

Capital punishment

The

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

is permitted in Saudi Arabia for such crimes as rape, murder, apostasy, sedition, sorcery, armed robbery, adultery and drug trafficking. While some of these crimes, such as premeditated murder, carry fixed punishments under

Sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

, other crimes such as drug-related offenses, are considered

tazir In Islamic Law, ''tazir'' (''ta'zeer'' or ''ta'zir'', ) lit. scolding; refers to punishment for offenses at the discretion of the judge (Qadi) or ruler of the state.National Society for Human Rights The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) is a Saudi Arabian human rights organisation closely associated with and funded by the Saudi government. It was established on 10 March 2004;Saudi monarchy, said that the number of executions is rising because crime rates are rising, that prisoners are treated humanely, and that the beheadings deter crime, saying, "Allah, our creator, knows best what's good for His people...Should we just think of and preserve the rights of the murderer and not think of the rights of others?" Saudi Arabian police and immigration authorities routinely abuse people who are stopped or detained, especially workers from developing countries. Earlier in November 2013, the authorities received criticism for the way they have planned and handled the crackdown on illegal workers. Saudi authorities – in some cases with the help of citizens – rounded up many illegal workers and physically abused them. On 23 April 2019, Saudi Arabia carried out mass executions of 37 imprisoned civilians who had been convicted mostly on the basis of confessions obtained under torture or written by the accused's torturers. Most of the executed belonged to the country's Shia minority. In April 2020, the Saudi Supreme Court announced under a royal decree by King Salman that minors who commit crimes will no longer face the death sentence, but will be sentenced up to 10 years imprisonment in a juvenile detention facility. In November 2021, sixteen British MPs and peers urged foreign secretary

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...

to intervene and stop Saudi Arabia from sentencing the Saudi scholar Hassan al-Maliki to death. Al-Maliki has been behind bars since 2017 on multiple charges, including "conducting interviews with western news outlets" and "owning books" that are unauthorised by the Saudi government. He was held incommunicado and in solitary confinement for three months. Labour MP Andy Slaughter said the treatment of the prominent academic was "totally incompatible with the reforms espoused by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman." In November 2022, human rights organizations said Saudi Arabia resumed secret executions for drug offences. In 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had vowed to "minimise" capital punishment. The regime had said that only those found guilty of a murder or of manslaughter will be sentenced to death. However, November 2022 reports revealed that the authorities executed 17 people in 10 days over non-violent drug charges. It included seven Saudis, four Syrians, three Pakistanis and three Jordanians. The executions majorly including beheading with a sword, bringing the total executions of 2022 to at least 137. It exceeded the combined number of executions of 2020 and 2021. The UN was not sure how many more people were on a death row. However, the

European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) () is a Europe-based human rights organisation for documenting and promoting human rights in Saudi Arabia. Aims and origin The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights has published re ...

(ESOHR) said nearly 54 more people, including eight minors, were on death row.

Corporal punishment

One of about 30 countries in the world with

judicial corporal punishment Judicial corporal punishment is the infliction of corporal punishment as a result of a sentence imposed on an offender by a Court, court of law, including Flagellation, flagellation (also called flogging or whipping), forced Amputation, amputat ...

, Saudi Arabia permits

amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...

s of hands and feet for

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

, and

flogging Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed ...

was permitted until 2020 for lesser crimes such as "sexual deviance" and

drunkenness Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...

. The number of lashes is not clearly prescribed by law and is varied according to the discretion of judges, and ranges from dozens of lashes to several hundred, usually applied over a period of weeks or months. At least five defendants were sentenced to flogging of 1,000 to 2,500 lashes. In the 2000s, it was reported that women were sentenced to lashes for adultery; the women were actually victims of rape, but because they could not prove who the perpetrators were, they were deemed guilty of committing adultery. In 2004, the United Nations Committee Against Torture criticized Saudi Arabia for such amputations and floggings; the Saudi delegation decried this "interference" in its legal system and defended 1,400-year-old "legal traditions" held since the inception of Islam. In 2009, Mazen Abdul-Jawad was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and five years in prison for bragging on a Saudi TV show about his sexual exploits. In 2014, Saudi blogger

Raif Badawi Raif bin Muhammad Badawi (, also transcribed Raef bin Mohammed Badawi; born 13 January 1984) is a Saudi writer, dissident and activist, as well as the creator of the website ''Free Saudi Liberals''. Badawi was arrested in 2012 on a charge of ...

's sentence was increased to 1,000 lashes and ten years' imprisonment after he was accused of

apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...

in 2012. The lashes were due to take place over 20 weeks. The first round (50) were administered on 9 January 2015, but the second round has been postponed due to medical problems. The case was internationally condemned and put a considerable amount of pressure on the Saudi legal system. In October 2015, UK pensioner and cancer victim Karl Andree, then 74, faced 360 lashes for home brewing alcohol. His family feared the punishment could kill him. However, he was released and returned home in November that year. In 2016, a Saudi man was sentenced to 2,000 lashes, ten years in prison and a fine of 20,000 riyals (US$5,300) for making tweets critical of Islam, and denying the existence of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. In September 2018, the official

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account of the Saudi Arabia prosecutors warned that people who share anything satirical on social media that "affects public order, religious values and public morals" would receive a five-year prison term and a fine of 3 million riyals (US$800,000). Several few intellectuals, businessmen and activists were arrested on such charges. In April 2020, the Saudi Supreme Court abolished the flogging punishment from its system and replaced it with jail time and fines.

Torture

While Saudi Arabia's Criminal Procedure Code prohibits "torture" and "undignified treatment" (art. 2), in practice, torture and using torture to extract forced confessions of guilt remains common. According to

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, security forces continued to torture and ill-treat detainees to extract confessions to be used as evidence against them at trial. According to the organization, 32 defendants accused of spying for Iran were subjected to torture and forced to confess. Detainees were held incommunicado and denied access to their families. In 2018, a UN panel that visited Saudi Arabia on the kingdom's invitation to conduct an inspection, revealed that the country has been systematically using anti-terror laws to justify torture. The report found that Saudis, who have been exercising their right to freedom of expression peacefully and calmly in the kingdom, have been systematically persecuted by the authorities. Walid Fitaihi, a physician born in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

in 1964, returned to Saudi Arabia in 2006 after studying and working in the US for two decades. He was arrested at the

Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...

hotel in November 2017 and moved to Al-Ha'ir Prison south of the capital. The Ritz-Carlton was used to hold many of the prominent prisoners of the Saudi government in 2017, according to Saudi activists.

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

reported, Fitaihi told a friend that he was "blindfolded, stripped of his underwear and bound to a chair". The daily report also said that the Saudi government tortured him with electric shocks, "what appears to have been a single session of torture that lasted about an hour". Reports also said he was whipped so severely that he could not sleep on his back for days. In August 2019, a news article released in ''

'' reported that more than 100 female migrants of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

i descent and some 45 male migrants fled from Saudi Arabia following psychological and

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

from employers. On 19 November 2020, ''The Independent'' reported human rights violations endured by women's rights activists and political prisoners in Saudi Arabian jails, based on a report by the Grant Liberty organization. Reportedly, women's rights activists and political prisoners have been sexually assaulted, tortured, and killed in Saudi Arabian detention cells. According to the research, 20 prisoners were arrested for political crimes, five of whom had already been put to death, while the remaining 13 face the death penalty. The report was released days before Saudi Arabia hosted the 2020 G20 Summit, which had female empowerment prominently on its agenda.

Freedom of press and communication

According to

, Saudi Arabia continued to repress pro-reform activists and peaceful

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

s in 2017. Speech, the press and other forms of communicative media, including television and radio broadcasting and Internet reception, are actively censored by the government to prevent political dissent and anything deemed, by the government, to be offensive to Wahhabi culture or Islamic morality. In 2008, a prominent Saudi

blogger A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

and reformist, Fouad al-Farhan, was jailed for posting comments online that were critical of Saudi business, religious and media figures, signifying a move by the government to step up its censorship of the Internet within its borders. He was released on 26 April 2008. Online social media has increasingly come under government scrutiny for dealing with the "forbidden" topics. In 2010 a Saudi man was fined and given jail time for his sexually suggestive YouTube video production. That same year another man was also jailed and ordered to pay a fine for boasting about his sex life on television. ''D+Z'', a magazine focused on development, reports that hundreds were arrested in order to limit freedom of expression. Many of these individuals were held without trial and in secret. The torture of these prisoners was also found to be prevalent. On 17 December 2012, blogger

was charged with apostasy, which carries the death penalty. Badawi is the editor and of co-founder of Free Saudi Liberals, a website for religious discussion. The organization Human Rights Watch has called for charges against him to be dropped. He had been sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for "insulting Islam", but this sentence was changed to 1,000 lashes, 10 years in prison, and additionally a fine of 1,000,000 Saudi riyals. The lashes are due to be administered every Friday for 20 weeks, 50 lashes at a time, but have not continued past the first flogging. The second flogging has been postponed more than twelve times; previous postponements were for health reasons, but the reason behind the most recent postponement is unknown. Saudi novelist and political analyst

Turki al-Hamad Turki al-Hamad (, ; born 10 March 1952) is a Saudi Arabian political analyst, journalist, and novelist, best known for his trilogy about the coming-of-age of Hisham al-Abir, a Saudi Arabian teenager, the first installment of which, ''Adama'', was ...

was arrested 24 December 2012 after a series of tweets on religion and other topics. The arrest was ordered by Saudi Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Nayef; however the charges against al-Hamad were not announced. He has since been freed. In 2014 and 2015, a team of Saudi agents allegedly infiltrated Twitter and stole proprietary and sensitive personal data from the American social media platform, in order to unmask anonymous dissidents of Saudi Arabia. Abdullah al-Hamid at the ninth hearing session

Abdullah al-Hamid at the ninth hearing session

In July 2015, Waleed Abulkhair, a prominent human rights lawyer, founder of Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia and recipient of 2012 of the Palm prize for human rights, was sentenced to 15 years of prison by a special criminal court in Riyadh for vague offences such as "setting up an unlicensed organization". On 17 November 2015, Ashraf Fayadh, a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

poet and

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

ist, was sentenced to death for committing apostasy. Fayadh was detained by the country's religious police in 2013 in

Abha Abha (, ') is the capital of Asir, Asir Province in Saudi Arabia. It is situated above sea level in the fertile Asir Mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia, near Asir National Park. Abha's mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination fo ...

, in southwest Saudi Arabia, and then rearrested and tried in early 2014. He was accused of having promoted

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

in his 2008 book of poems ''Instructions Within''. However, the religious police failed to prove that his poetry was atheist propaganda and Fayadh's supporters believe he is being punished by hardliners for posting a video online showing a man being lashed in public by the religious police in Abha. Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, said Fayadh's death sentence showed Saudi Arabia's "complete intolerance of anyone who may not share government-mandated religious, political and social views". On 15 July 2015, Saudi Arabian writer and commentator Zuhair Kutbi was sentenced to four years in prison without clear charges following an interview at the Rotana Khaleejia TV channel in which he discussed his ideas for peaceful reform in Saudi Arabia to become a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

, and talked about combatting

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

and

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

. Kutbi's lawyer and son said half the sentence was suspended, but that he was also banned from writing for 15 years and travelling abroad for 5 years, and fined US$26,600. In February 2017,

issued a report regarding the violation of freedom of speech in Saudi Arabia. According to the report, since 2010, at least 20 prominent Saudi dissidents were sentenced to a long prison term or a travel ban for some years; the offenses ranged from breaking allegiance with the ruling family to participating in protests demanding rights be respected. According to the report, the government has been trying to silence people expressing dissenting views regarding religion, politics, and human rights. On 17 April 2011, Nadhir al-Majed, a prominent 39-year-old writer, was arrested at school and detained for 15 months. On 18 January 2017, he was sentenced to seven years in prison and a seven-year travel ban; he has also not been permitted to call his family or receive visits. The conviction was based on "his participation in protests in 2011 over discrimination against

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

" and "his communication with international media and human rights organizations", supporting the right of Shia in the country. On 10 January, Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, a human rights activist, was re-sentenced to eight years in prison, an eight-year ban on using social media after his release and an eight-year travel ban; the charges included "his incitement against the government and judiciary" as well as "his communication with international agencies against his government". He remains free on bail, however. On 8 January, Essam Koshak, 45, was detained without charge; he used social medial to highlight Saudi Arabia's repression of dissident writers, activists, and advocates for their release. Since 2014, nearly all Saudi dissidents have been sentenced to a long jail term based on their activism in addition to arrest of all the activists associated with the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, which was dissolved in March 2013. In September 2018, the

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob vo ...

awarded three jailed Saudi human rights activists with the "alternative Nobel prize" award. Abdullah al-Hamid, Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani and Waleed Abu al-Khair were jointly awarded one million kronor cash award "for their visionary and courageous efforts, guided by universal human rights principles, to reform the totalitarian political system in Saudi Arabia". , al-Hamid and al-Qahtani, founding members of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, were serving prison sentences of 11 and 10 years respectively, according to the charges for "providing inaccurate information to foreign media, founding and operating an unlicensed human rights organization"; while al-Khair, a lawyer and activist, was serving a sentence of 15 years for "disobeying the ruler". In 2018, a Saudi American journalist, Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside a foreign embassy. He was a critic of Saudi Arabia. In June 2019, a 101-page report by the

OHCHR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

accused the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the premeditated

assassination of Jamal Khashoggi On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, was killed by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi operatives. His body w ...

. The same year, British media group,

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, claimed that it was being targeted by a cybersecurity unit in Saudi Arabia. The unit was directed to hack into the email accounts of the journalists probing into the various crises involving the royal court. The claim was made based on what is said to be a confidential internal order, signed in the name of

Saud al-Qahtani Saud bin Abdullah al-Qahtani (born July 7, 1978) is a Saudi Arabian consultant and former royal court advisor. Prior to his dismissal in late 2018, he worked as an advisor to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. ...

, a close aide of the crown prince

also named in the murder of Khashoggi. In March 2020, ''

'' revealed that

had been allegedly

spying Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or Confidentiality, confidential information (Intelligence (information), intelligence). A person who commits espionage on ...

its citizens in the US. The British media cited that the nation has been readily exploiting the weakness in global mobile telecom network called SS7, and informed that the data reviewed by them shows millions of covert tracking requests for the US location of Saudi-registered phones since November 2019. On 9 April 2020, prominent human rights activist Abdullah al-Hamid died in the prison after suffering a stroke. He was the founder of Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association and was arrested in 2013 for a peaceful protest. In January 2021, Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi student at

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

, was arrested while visiting Saudi Arabia for holidays. In August 2022, she was given 34-year prison sentence for

following ''Following'' is a 1998 British independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, produced, directed, photographed, and edited by Christopher Nolan in his feature film directorial debut. It tells the story of a young man who follows strange ...

and retweeting dissidents and activists on

. Some of her tweets appeared to show support for Loujain al-Hathloul, a Saudi women's rights activist who was imprisoned by Saudi Arabia earlier and was tortured. Later in August 2022, a woman named Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani was sentenced to 45 years in prison for "using the internet to tear audi Arabia'ssocial fabric". Democracy for the Arab World Now connected these harsh prison sentences with US president

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's visit to Jeddah in July 2022.

Women's rights

Guardianship system, segregation, and restrictions

Saudi women face discrimination in many aspects of their lives, such as the

justice system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four major legal traditions: civil law, common law, customary law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique hi ...

, and under the male guardianship system are effectively treated as legal minors. Although they make up 70% of those enrolled in universities, for social reasons, women make up 5% of the workforce in Saudi Arabia, the lowest proportion in the world. The treatment of women has been referred to as "

sex segregation Sex segregation, sex separation, sex partition, gender segregation, gender separation, or gender partition is the physical, legal, or cultural separation of people according to their gender or Sex, biological sex at any age. Sex segregation ca ...

", "gender

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

", and of some women being "prisoners" of their male relatives. Implementation of a government resolution supporting expanded employment opportunities for women met resistance from within the labor ministry, from the religious police, and from the male citizenry. In many parts of Saudi Arabia, it is believed that a woman's place is in the home caring for her husband and family, yet there are some women who do not adhere to this view and practice, and some run the house instead of the husband himself. Moreover, there is also some type of segregation at homes, such as different entrances for men and women. Women's rights are at the heart of calls for

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

in Saudi Arabia – calls that are challenging the kingdom's political status quo. Local and international women's groups are also pushing governments to respond, taking advantage of the fact that some rulers are eager to project a more progressive image to the West. Since 2009, women and their male supporters have been organizing an

anti male-guardianship campaign The Saudi anti male-guardianship campaign is an ongoing campaign by Saudi Arabia, Saudi women against the requirement under the law to obtain permission from their wali (Islamic legal guardian), male guardian for activities such as getting a job, ...

. Female leaders of this movement have been imprisoned without charge. Women in general who challenge the guardianship system may be sent to shelters for troubled women, where according to human rights activists they face torture and sexual abuse. Men are free to abuse women in Saudi Arabia, with reports of women being locked in their rooms for months or threatened with starvation or shooting for offenses such as getting the wrong kind of haircut or being in a relationship with a man the family has not approved. Women cannot file police reports without the permission of a male guardian, and may end up being imprisoned by the government for complaining. Women are prohibited from certain professions (such as

optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

) and may be prohibited from mixing with men at work, but according to the government as of 2017 compose 30% of workers in the private sector (which is 40% of GDP). The presence of powerful businesswomen—still a rare sight—in some of these groups helps get them heard. Prior to 2008, women were not allowed to enter hotels and furnished apartments without a chaperone or

mahram In Islam, a () is a family member with whom marriage would be considered permanently unlawful (''haram''). A woman does not need to wear hijab around her mahram or spouse, and an adult male mahram or husband may escort a woman on a journey, a ...

. With a 2008 Royal Decree, however, the only requirement for a woman to be allowed to enter hotels is a national ID card, and (as with male guests) the hotel must inform the nearest police station of their room reservation and length of stay. In April 2010, a new, optional ID card for women was issued which allows them to travel in countries of the

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a Regional integration, regional, intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Ba ...

. The cards include

GPS tracking A GPS tracking unit, geotracking unit, satellite tracking unit, or simply tracker is a navigation device normally on a vehicle, asset, person or animal that uses satellite navigation to determine its movement and determine its WGS84 UTM ...

, fingerprints and features that make them difficult to forge. Women do not need male permission to apply for the card, but do need it to travel abroad. Proponents argue that new female identity cards enable a woman to carry out her activities with ease, and prevent forgeries committed in the name of women. Women first joined the

Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia The Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia (), also known as ''Majlis ash-Shura'' or ''The Shura Council'', is the formal advisory body of Saudi Arabia. It was originally founded in 1924 as the National Council during the Sultanate of Nejd, It wa ...

in 2013, occupying thirty seats. Furthermore, that year three women were named as deputy chairpersons of three committees. Thurayya Obeid was named Deputy Chairwoman of the Human Rights and Petitions Committee, Zainab Abu Talib, Deputy Chairwoman of the Information and Cultural Committee, and Lubna Al-Ansari, Deputy Chairwoman of the Health Affairs and Environment Committee. Loujain Alhathloul

In 2013 the Directorate General of Passports allowed Saudi women married to foreigners to sponsor their children, so that the children can have residency permits (iqamas) with their mothers named as the sponsors, and have the right to work in the private sector in Saudi Arabia while on the sponsorship of their mothers, and the mother can also bring her children who are living abroad back to Saudi Arabia if they have no criminal records. Foreign men married to Saudi women were also granted the right to work in the private sector in Saudi Arabia while on the sponsorship of their wives on condition that the title on their iqamas should be written as "husband of a Saudi wife" and that they should have valid passports enabling them to return to their homes at any time. Saudi women married to foreigners, however, still face difficulty in passing their nationality to their children. Also in 2013, Saudi Arabia registered its first female trainee lawyer, Arwa al-Hujaili. In Saudi courts, the testimony of women is weighted half that of a man's. According to the

CIA world factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print ve ...

, the female literacy rate is 82.2%, in comparison to 90.8% male literacy rate. In the year 2018, the Saudi government changed several policies, allowing women to drive with the permission of their guardian, attend sporting events in gender-segregated areas, participate in sports (including exercising on public streets), and eliminated the need for male permission to receive education, get healthcare, or open a business. It began offering physical education for girls and said it would start licensing female-only gyms. The government opened the military to women in March, who can serve if they meet certain physical and educational requirements, continue to live with their male guardian in the province of service, and get male permission. It also granted divorced women the ability to retain custody of children without petitioning. Male permission is still required to apply for a passport, travel, marry, divorce, or leave jail. Men and women are also still segregated on public transport, beaches, and pools. In practice, some doctors still require male permission before providing services, and male permission may be needed to rent an apartment or file a legal claim. In 2019, the Saudi government has been taken new measures to release male guardianship. Thus, women will be soon allowed to travel abroad without the need of getting the permission of their male guardians. In July 2018, two prominent female human rights activists,

Samar Badawi Samar bint Muhammad Badawi (; born 28 June 1981) is a Saudi Arabian human rights activist. She and her father filed court cases against each other in Saudi Arabia. Badawi's father accused her of disobedience under the Saudi Arabian male guardia ...

and Nassima al-Sada, were arrested for challenging Saudi Arabia's male guardianship laws. According to

, several arrested women's rights activists detained without charge in Dhahban Prison are enduring torture by electrocution, flogging, hanging from the ceiling, and sexual assault. In October 2018, under the predominant male guardianship system, a Saudi woman lost a legal battle to marry the man she wanted to because he played a musical instrument, many conservative Muslims in the kingdom consider music to be "haram" (forbidden). The male relative of the woman did not allow her to marry the man of her choice citing religious incompatibility as the man played oud. Saudi Arabia is not a party to the

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on 16 December 1966 through GA. Resolution 2200A (XXI), and came into force on 3 January 197 ...

, which among many other issues prohibits forced marriages. However, it is part of the Human Rights council. The

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

in its

Global Gender Gap Report The Global Gender Gap Report is an index designed to measure gender equality. It was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum. It "assesses countries on how well they are dividing their resources and opportunities among their male an ...

2018 ranked Saudi Arabia 141 out of 149 countries on gender equality. In 2019, the government also stated that women can start working in the military. In the past they could only work in police. On 30 November 2020, seven European human rights ambassadors criticized Saudi Arabia over the continued detention of at least five women's rights activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul, whose case was referred to a special court for terrorism offenses in that month. On 25 November 2020, Loujain appeared in a Saudi court, as her trial was scheduled to start after 900 days in pre-trial detention. However, the court instead referred the case to the Specialized Criminal Court for terrorism and national security cases. In February 2021, Saudi women were granted permission to join military and army professional fields. Women in Saudi Arabia can now be employed as soldiers, lance corporals, corporals, sergeants, and staff sergeants. However, an investigation by ''

'' newspaper in 2025 found that the '' Dar al-Reaya'', officially "care homes", continued to be effectively "jails" for women whose families wish to institutionalize them for disobedience, extramarital sexual relations or being absent from home. Some women are sent to Dar al-Reaya to protect a family's reputation after a woman is sexually abused by a brother or father. Treatment was reported to be "hellish": very harsh, with solitary confinement, flogging, and no visits or contact.

Driving

Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world where women were forbidden to drive motor vehicles until June 2018. The motoring ban was not in statute law, but was an "informal" religious

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

imposed by conservative Muslim clerics in order to maintain the country's tradition of gender segregation, although this religious view has changed in recent years. In 1990, when 47 Saudi women drove cars through the streets of Riyadh in protest against the ban, protestors were punished and was reported: "All the drivers, and their husbands, were barred from foreign travel for a year. Those women who had government jobs were fired, once their employers found out. And from hundreds of mosque pulpits, they were denounced by name as immoral women out to destroy Saudi society." When the driving ban was enforced, women complained that "we can't move around without a male". Many could not afford chauffeurs, and the few buses that do operate in cities and towns across the Kingdom do not follow a set schedule. On 26 October 2013, a group of women started a movement to defy the ban by driving themselves. However, on 23 October, in a "rare and explicit restating of the ban", Interior Ministry Spokesman General Mansur al-Turki warned: "It is known that women in Saudi are banned from driving and laws will be applied against violators and those who demonstrate support." In December 2014, two women were arrested and sentenced to almost a month of prison for defying the female driving ban. Women are allowed to fly aircraft, though they must be chauffeured to the airport. A Saudi woman made news in 2007 when she became the first woman to get her pilot's license. The woman, Hanadi al-Hindi works for Saudi Prince Al Waleed. Hisham Fageeh, a Saudi living in the US, has created a video which makes a reference to the Government's rules which prevented women from driving. The video was released the same day many women in Saudi Arabia staged a nationwide protest against the Government. In 2015, a Saudi woman working in neighboring UAE was arrested as she tried to enter Saudi Arabia. She had her passport taken from her and was forced to wait at the Saudi-UAE border without any food or water. She claimed that her UAE drivers license was valid in all GCC countries, but the Saudi border authorities refused to acknowledge its legitimacy. In 2017, a royal decree was issued to allowing women to drive. The first driving license was issued to a Saudi woman in June 2018 and the ban on driving was lifted on 24 June 2018. Between the announcement and the lifting of the ban, the leaders of the Women to Drive campaign who violated the ban were arrested and tortured. Male permission is still required to travel outside the home, so many women in conservative families are still not allowed to drive.

LGBT rights

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

are unrecognized as the official religion of the Kingdom views

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

ism as sins that need to be eliminated or corrected.

Homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

is frequently a taboo subject in Saudi Arabian society and is punished with imprisonment,

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

and

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

Transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

people are generally associated with homosexuality and doctors are banned by the Saudi Ministry of Health from giving

hormone replacement therapy Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy or postmenopausal hormone therapy, is a form of hormone therapy used to treat symptoms associated with female menopause. Effects of menopause can include symptoms such ...

to transgender people seeking to medically transition. In 2017, two

Pakistanis were allegedly tortured to death by Saudi police. Police later denied the reports.

Human trafficking

Saudi Arabia is a notable destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of

slave labour Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and many other countries voluntarily travel to Saudi Arabia as domestic servants or other low-skilled labourers, but some subsequently face conditions indicative of involuntary servitude. Women, primarily from Asian and African countries are trafficked into Saudi Arabia for commercial sexual exploitation; others were kidnapped and forced into prostitution after running away from abusive employers. Some Saudi men have also used contracted "temporary marriages" in countries such as Mauritania, Yemen, and Indonesia as a means by which to sexually exploit migrant workers. Women are led to believe they are being wed in earnest, but upon arrival in Saudi Arabia subsequently become their husbands' sexual slaves, are forced into domestic labor and, in some cases, prostitution. Prostitution is illegal in Saudi Arabia.

Racism

Racism in Saudi Arabia extends to allegations of imprisonment, physical abuse, rape, overwork and wage theft, especially of foreign workers who are given little protections under the law.

Antisemitism

During the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

(1990–1991), when approximately a half million U.S. military personnel assembled in Saudi Arabia, and many were then stationed there, there were many Jewish U.S. service personnel in Saudi Arabia. It is reported that the Saudi government insisted that Jewish religious services not be held on their soil but that Jewish soldiers be flown to nearby US warships.

Rights of foreigners

Migrant workers' rights

According to the 2016

annual report, Saudi authorities detained and deported hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants, while tens of thousands were fired without having been paid for months and were left stranded without food, water or exit visas.

Stateless people

There are 70,000 stateless people in Saudi Arabia, also known as Bedoon. Some stateless are Yemenis who moved to Saudi Arabia, before the borders were in place. This is also prevalent in neighboring UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

Laborers' rights

Every summer, the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development enforce a 3-months midday outdoor work ban. The main aim of this ban is to protect laborers from being directly exposed to the sun and high-temperature. Laborers, either Saudi Nationals or foreigners, are able to file any violations through the ministry's portal. According to other sources though, there are human rights violations, even during Ramadan. The workers might work less but they will be paid less.

Sectarianism and freedom of religion

Saudi Arabian law does not recognize religious freedom, and the public practice of non-Muslim religions is actively prohibited. No law specifically requires citizens to be Muslims, but article 12.4 of the Naturalization Law requires that applicants attest to their religious affiliation, and article 14.1 requires that applicants get a certificate endorsed by their local cleric. The Government has declared the Quran and the Sunna (tradition) of the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

to be the country's constitution. Neither the Government nor society in general accepts the concepts of separation of religion and state, and such separation does not exist. The legal system is based on Shari'a (Islamic law), with Shari'a courts basing their judgments largely on a code derived from the Quran and the Sunna. According to Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia "systematically discriminates against its Muslim religious minorities, in particular Shia and Ismailis", but the Government permits Shi'a Muslims to use their own legal tradition to adjudicate noncriminal cases within their community. Testifying before the US

Congressional Human Rights Caucus The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) is a bipartisan body of the United States House of Representatives. Its stated mission is "to promote, defend and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms in a nonpartisan manner, both ...

Ali al-Ahmed Ali Abbas al-Ahmed (alt.: Ali AlAhmed) (, Gulf Arabic, Gulf pronunciation: ; born 1966, is a Saudi journalist and analyst focusing on the politics of the Persian Gulf region, including terrorism, Islamism, Islamic movements, Wahhabi Islam, Saudi ...

, Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, stated:

Saudi Arabia is a glaring example of religious apartheid. The religious institutions from government clerics to judges, to religious curriculums, and all religious instructions in media are restricted to the Wahhabi understanding of Islam, adhered to by less than 40% of the population. The Saudi government communized Islam, through its monopoly of both religious thoughts and practice. Wahhabi Islam is imposed and enforced on all Saudis regardless of their religious orientations. The Wahhabi sect does not tolerate other religious or ideological beliefs, Muslim or not. Religious symbols by Muslims, Christians, Jewish and other believers are all banned. The Saudi embassy in Washington is a living example of religious apartheid. In its 50 years, there has not been a single non-Sunni Muslim diplomat in the embassy. The branch of Imam Mohamed Bin Saud University in
Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...
instructs its students that
Shia Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...
is a Jewish conspiracy.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia enacted new "anti-terrorism" legislation.

criticized the broad language of the legislation and related government decrees, which have been used to prosecute and punish peaceful political activists and dissidents.Adam Withnall
Saudi Arabia declares all atheists are terrorists in new law to crack down on political dissidents
, ''Independent'' (1 April 2014). HEW stated "these recent laws and regulations turn almost any critical expression or independent association into crimes of terrorism." A number of prominent

human rights activists A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

were detained under the new law, including Waleed Abulkhair and Mikhlif Alshammari. Interior Ministry regulations also defined "calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based" as terrorism.

International law

Saudi Arabia abstained from the United Nations vote adopting the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

, saying it contradicted

sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

. It is not a party to the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom ...

, which includes freedom of religion. The country holds a reservation to the

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...

against any provisions that are in conflict with sharia law; Article 14 gives freedom of "thought, conscience and religion" to children. Saudi Arabia and some of the Gulf states have been carrying out airstrikes on the Yemen, violating international laws and arresting anyone that criticizes them.

Jews

There has been virtually no Jewish activity in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the 21st century. Census data do not identify any Jews as residing within Saudi Arabian territory.

Christians

As an Islamic state, Saudi Arabia gives preferential treatment for Muslims. During

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, eating, drinking, or smoking in public during daylight hours is not allowed. Foreign schools are often required to teach a yearly introductory segment on Islam. Saudi religious police have detained Shi'ite pilgrims participating in the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

, allegedly calling them "

infidels An infidel (literally "unfaithful") is a person who is accused of disbelief in the central tenets of one's own religion, such as members of another religion, or irreligion, irreligious people. Infidel is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical term in Ch ...

in Mecca". The restrictions on the Shi'a branch of Islam in the Kingdom along with the banning of displaying Jewish, Hindu and Christian symbols have been referred to as apartheid. The Saudi government has gone further than stopping Christians from worshipping in publicly designated buildings to even raid private prayer meetings among Christian believers in their own homes. On 15 December 2011, Saudi security forces arrested 35 Ethiopian Christians in Jeddah who were praying in a home, beating them and threatening them with death. When the Ethiopian workers' employers asked security forces for what reason they were arrested, they said "for practicing Christianity". Later, under mounting international pressure, this charge was changed to "mixing with the opposite sex". In December 2012, Saudi religious police detained more than 41 individuals after storming a house in the Saudi Arabian province of al-Jouf. They were accused of "plotting to celebrate Christmas," according to a 26 December statement released by the police branch. Proselytizing by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

s, is illegal in Saudi Arabia.

Shia Muslims

The Saudi government has often been viewed as an active oppressor of Shia Muslims because of the funding of the Wahhabi ideology which denounces the Shia faith. In 1988,

fatwas A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist (''faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

passed by the country's leading cleric, Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz denounced the

Shias Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

apostates Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...

. Another by Abdul-Rahman al-Jibrin, a member of the Higher Council of Ulama is on record as saying

Some people say that the rejectionists (''Rafidha'', i.e. Shia) are Muslims because they believe in God and Muhammad, pray and fast. But I say they are heretics. They are the most vicious enemy of Muslims, who should be wary of their plots. They should be boycotted and expelled so that Muslims be spared their evil.

According to Vali Nasr, al-Jibrin's sanctioning of the killing of Shia was reiterated in Wahhabi religious literature as late as 2002. According to a 2009

report, Shia citizens in Saudi Arabia "face systematic discrimination in religion, education, justice, and employment".

has no

cabinet ministers,

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

or police chiefs, according to another source,

Vali Nasr Vali Reza Nasr (, born 20 December 1960) is an Iranian-American academic and political scientist, specializing in Middle Eastern studies and the history of Islam. He is Majid Khaddouri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies ...

, unlike other countries with sizable

populations (such as

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

). Shia are kept out of "critical jobs" in the armed forces and the security services, and not one of the three hundred

girls' schools in the Eastern Province has a

principal. In November 2014 at al-Dalwah village in the eastern province of al-Ahsa, three unknown masked gunmen opened fire at a Husseiniya, or Shi'ite religious center, killing eight and injuring dozens. While the government and the official media and religious establishment strongly condemned the attack, a handful of articles in the Saudi press argued that the attack "had not come out of nowhere", that there was anti-Shi'ite incitement in the kingdom on the part of "the religious establishment, preachers, and even university lecturers – and that it was on the rise". Shiites are banned from building mosques and other religious centers and are forced to perform Friday prayers in homes (Al-Hassan). In the Eastern city of

Al-Khobar Khobar () is a city and List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 409,549 ...

, whose population is predominately Shia, there are no Shia mosques.Saudi Arabia: Treat Shia Equally
,

, 3 September 2009. Saudi Arabia's religious police mandate prayers and all those in public buildings during prayer time are required to stop what they are doing to pray. Because there are minor differences between the way that Shiites and Sunnis pray and between prayer times, Shiites are forced to either pray the Sunni way or take a break from work. In 2009, a group of Shiites on their way to perform

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage (one of the five pillars of Islam that all able-bodied Muslims are required to perform once in their lives) in Mecca were arrested by Saudi religious police. Between 20 and 24 February 2009, Shia pilgrims from the heavily Shia Eastern Province who had come to Medina for the anniversary of Muhammad's death clashed with Sunni religious police at the Baqi' cemetery over doctrinal differences concerning the rituals surrounding commemoration of the dead. Security forces shot a 15-year-old pilgrim in the chest, and an unknown civilian stabbed a Shia religious sheikh in the back with a knife, shouting "Kill the rejectionist hia. The authorities denied that anyone had been wounded and played down the ensuing arrests of Shia pilgrims. Religious police have arrested Shia women in the Eastern Province for matters as trivial as organizing classes for Quranic studies and selling clothing for religious ceremonies as if they were involved in political activities which are not allowed in KSA. In the eastern city of Dammam where three quarters of the 400,000 residents are Shia, there are no Shia mosques or prayer halls, no Shia call to prayer broadcast on TV, and no cemeteries for Shia. In late 2011, a Shiite pilgrim was charged for being "involved with blasphemy" and sentenced to 500 lashes and 2 years in jail. A prominent Shiite Canadian cleric, Usama al-Attar was also charged. He was released on the same day, declaring the arrest entirely unprovoked. Much of education in Saudi Arabia is based on Sunni Wahhabi religious material. From a very young age, students are taught that Shiites are not Muslims and that Shiism is a conspiracy hatched by the Jews, and so Shiites are worthy of death.Discrimination against Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia: The Old and New Reality
by Dr. Mohamed J. Al-Hassan (

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...

) Government Wahhabi scholars, such as Abdulqader Shaibat al-Hamd, have proclaimed on state radio that Sunni Muslims must not "eat their hiafood, marry from them, or bury their dead in Muslims' graveyards". The government has restricted the names that

can use for their children in an attempt to discourage them from showing their identity. Saudi textbooks are hostile to Shiism, often characterizing the faith as a form of heresy worse than

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. Because anti-Shia attitudes are engrained from an early age, they are passed down from generation to generation. This prejudice is found not only in textbooks, but also within the teachers in the classroom, and even in the university setting. (Wahhabi) teachers frequently tell classrooms full of young Shia schoolchildren that they are heretics.Nasr, ''Shia Revival'', (2006), p. 237 Teachers who proclaim that Shiites are atheists and deserve death have faced no repercussions for their actions, barely even receiving punishment. At a seminar about the internet, held in King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology, professor Bader Hmood Albader explained that the internet was beneficial to society, but that there were many Shia websites claiming to be Muslim websites, which needed to be stopped. Much discrimination occurs in the Saudi workforce as well. Shiites are prohibited from becoming teachers of religious subjects, which constitute about half of the courses in secondary education. Shiites cannot become principals of schools. Some Shiites have become university professors but often face harassment from students and faculty alike. Shiites are disqualified as witnesses in court, as Saudi Sunni sources cite the Shi'a practice of Taqiyya, wherein it is permissible to lie while they are in fear or at risk of significant persecution. Shia cannot serve as judges in ordinary court, and are banned from gaining admission to military academies, and from high-ranking government or security posts, including becoming pilots in Saudi Airlines. The Saudi government has often been viewed as an active oppressor of Shias because of the funding of the Wahabbi ideology which denounces the Shia faith. In 1988,

passed by the country's leading cleric, Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz denounced the

. According to a 2009

report, Shia citizens in Saudi Arabia "face systematic discrimination in religion, education, justice, and employment". In January 2016, Saudi Arabia executed the prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr, who had called for pro-democracy demonstrations, along with 47 other Saudi citizens

sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. Lead guitarist Miika Tenkula was the band's vocalist for the first album, but du ...

by the Specialized Criminal Court on terrorism charges. In May 2019,

said that Saudi Arabia was seeking to extend the jail term for Sheikh Mohammad bin Hassan al-Habib, who the human rights group described as "a cleric known for supporting protests against the systematic discrimination of Saudi Arabia's Shia minority". At the time, Hassan al-Habib had been serving a seven-year prison sentence.

2017 al-Awamiyah clashes

The ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' reports that, in 2017, the Saudi government "razed homes belonging to Shia residents" in a several-hundred years old area in al-Awamiyah. Saudi officials said that the area provided a haven for militant groups and stated that it would redevelop the area in which it razed homes. ''

'' reports that a three-year-old and a two-year-old were killed by gunfire resulting from violence between government forces and armed anti-government protestors. The clashes began in May 2017, By August, locals had reported that between one- and two-dozen people had been killed in the shelling of the city and by sniper fire in what ''The Independent'' described as a "siege". According to an estimate provided by residents of the city, 20,000 residents were fled the city in response to the violence.

Charges of magic, witchcraft, and sorcery

According to Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at

in 2009, "Saudi judges have harshly punished confessed 'witches' for what at worst appears to be fraud, but may well be harmless acts." In 2009, the Saudi "

religious police Religious police are any Police, police force responsible for the enforcement of religious norms and associated religious laws. Nearly all religious police organizations in modern society are Islamic and can be found in countries with a large Mu ...

" established a special "Anti-Witchcraft Unit" to educate the public, investigate and combat

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

. Among the people executed in Saudi for magic and sorcery, and often other charges, are Egyptian pharmacist Mustafa Ibrahim (beheaded in 2007 in Riyadh), Muree bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri (found in possession of

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

s and executed in

Najran province Najran ( ') is a Southern Provinces of Saudi Arabia, province of Saudi Arabia. It has an area of 149,511 km². Its capital is Najran. Najran is inhabited by the Banu Yam, Yam tribe. A significant percentage of the province's inhabitants ar ...

in June 2012), Amina bin Salem Nasser (executed in December 2011 in Jawf), and Abdul Hamid Bin Hussain Bin Moustafa al-Fakki (a Sudanese migrant worker executed in a car park in

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

on 20 September 2011). Ali Hussain Sibat, a Lebanese host of a popular fortune-telling TV program, was arrested while in Saudi in May 2008 on

Umrah The Umrah () is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the '' Ḥajj'' (; "pilgrimage"), which has specific d ...

and sentenced to death but finally released sometime in 2011 or 2012. Many convicted of magic receive lesser punishments of lashes and/or prison. In 2011, the "Anti-Witchcraft Unit" processed over 586 cases of magical crime. In 2012 there were 215 witchcraft arrests made. The majority of these offenders are foreign domestic workers from Africa and Indonesia. Foreign domestic workers who bring unfamiliar traditional religious or folk customs are a disproportionately affected by the anti-witchcraft campaign according to Human Rights Watch researchers Adam Coogle and Cristoph Wilcke. Saudis assume folk practices are "some kind of sorcery or witchcraft", and widespread belief in witchcraft means it can be invoked as a defense in Sharia courts against workers complaining of mistreatment by Saudi employers.

believes that the conviction of a Syrian national, 'Abd al-Karim Mara'I al-Naqshabandi, who was executed in 1996 for undertaking "the practice of works of magic and spells and possession of a collection of polytheistic and superstitious books, was actually resulted from a dispute with his employer Prince Salman bin Sa'ud bin 'Abd al'Aziz, a nephew of

King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1 ...

Extraterritorial harassment, forced repatriation, and killing

About 1,200 people fled Saudi Arabia and sought asylum in other countries in 2017, including many women fleeing forced marriages or abusive male family members. The Saudi government has frozen bank accounts, arrested family members, and revoked official documents in an attempt to get fleeing citizens to return to the country or to a Saudi embassy. Students studying abroad have been threatened with termination of scholarships in response to criticism of the Saudi government on social media. In 2018, some studying in Canada were de-funded after the Canadian government criticized human rights in Saudi Arabia. Women who have successfully gained asylum in Western countries report fearing for their personal safety after being harassed by Saudi government agents on social media, and sometimes in person, warning them that they will be sorry for their actions or be punished. Occasionally they are asked to go to Saudi embassies for no stated reason. One woman, unlike most, reported going to the embassy to try to end harassment of a firm she had left to her business partners, but she said authorities attempted to get her to return, threatened her, and said the business would continue to have problems as long as she remained in Germany. The Saudi government is suspected of being behind the disappearance of its critic Naser al-Sa'id from Lebanon in 1979. Human rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was forcibly repatriated from the United Arab Emirates in 2017, jailed for a short time, banned from future international travel, and then disappeared after being arrested again in 2018. Her husband was forcibly repatriated from Jordan. In 2016, three women and seven children who fled to Lebanon were arrested by Lebanese police and returned to Saudi Arabia minutes after using a bank card. Lastknowphotoofdinaali2

In April 2017, 24-year-old Dina Ali attempted to flee from Saudi Arabia to Australia via the Philippines to escape a

forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

. Despite her pleas for international assistance over social media, airport personnel in the Philippines blocked her from boarding her flight to Sydney, and handed her over to Saudi authorities. She was duct taped and forcibly repatriated to Saudi Arabia, where she feared her family would kill her. In January 2019, Rahaf Mohammed attempted a similar flight from a forced marriage, traveling to Australia via Kuwait and Thailand. She also said that her family threatened to kill her for leaving Islam (which is also a capital offense in Saudi Arabia). After her passport was taken and authorities in Thailand acted at the request of the Saudi government to stop her travel, she barricaded herself in her hotel room and pleaded on social media for international assistance. The

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

and the government of Canada intervened, and Rahaf travelled successfully to Canada via South Korea. Other Saudi women have done similar things. On 2 October 2018,

Jamal Khashoggi Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi (13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, Saudi dissidents, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab New ...

entered the Saudi consulate in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in order to deal with paperwork related to his marriage. A veteran Saudi journalist who had become a vocal critic of Saudi regime, upon arrival Khashoggi was assassinated and dismembered. In the previous September, Khashoggi had fled Saudi Arabia after the arrests of other Saudi intellectuals, clerics and activists, fearing that he too would be arrested or banned from travelling. On 3 October, a Saudi official claimed that Khashoggi had been neither detained nor killed, saying: "He is not in the consulate nor in Saudi custody." Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesman, said: "According to the information we have, this person who is a Saudi citizen is still at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul." Three weeks after Khashoggi went missing, Saudi authorities acknowledged that he had been killed at the consulate and that his body was removed from the consulate. The killing was described as "murder" and "a tremendous mistake" by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. On 25 October 2018, one of the Saudi public prosecutors told the media that Khashoggi's murder was "premeditated".

Human rights organizations

Independent

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in the Arabian Peninsula is a Saudi Arabian human rights organization based in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

since 1992. The Human Rights First Society applied unsuccessfully for a governmental license in 2002, but was allowed to function informally. The Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia was created in 2007 and is also unlicensed. The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) was created in 2009. One of its co-founders,

Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi (or ''Muhammad'', ''Salih'', ''al-Bajadi'', ''albjadi''; ) is a co-founder of the Saudi Arabian human rights organisation Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) who has campaigned for prisoners' rights sin ...

, was arbitrarily arrested by

, the internal security agency, on 21 March 2011, during the

2011 Saudi Arabian protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

. Al-Bejadi was charged in the Specialized Criminal Court in August 2011 for "insurrection against the ruler, instigating demonstrations, and speaking with foreign ediachannels". Another co-founder, Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani, was charged for his human rights activities in June 2012. Sixteen people who tried to create a human rights organization in 2007 were arrested in February 2007, charged in August 2010, and convicted on 22 November 2011 of "forming a secret rganization attempting to seize power, incitement against the King, financing terrorism, and money laundering" and sentenced by the Specialized Criminal Court to 5–30 years' imprisonment, to be followed by travel bans. They appealed on 22 January 2012. The Society for Development and Change was created to campaign for equal

for

Shia Muslims Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia The Eastern Province (Arabic: المنطقة الشرقية al-Mintaqah ash-Sharqīyah), also known as the Eastern Region, is a province in Saudi Arabia. It is the nation's largest province by area and the third most populous after the Riyadh Pr ...

. The organisation calls for a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

and elected

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

for Eastern Province. The

, which started operating around 2013, campaigns for Saudi human rights in general, including reports on what its leader Ali Adubisi describes as the Saudi government's "war" against the Eastern Province. ALQST is a Saudi human rights organisation created in August 2014 by Yahya Assiri, with a Saudi-based team for collecting evidence and a London-based team for reports and human rights campaigning.

Government-associated

In 2004, the

National Society for Human Rights The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) is a Saudi Arabian human rights organisation closely associated with and funded by the Saudi government. It was established on 10 March 2004; Most of the commission's directors are members of the Saudi "religious and political establishment" according to John R. Bradley. The

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

is a government organization established in September 2005. It claims to be fully independent from the government in performing its responsibilities. In March 2019 it opposed international investigation of the 2 October 2018

HIV/AIDS

By law, all Saudi citizens who are infected with HIV or AIDS are entitled to free medical care, protection of their privacy and employment opportunities. However, most hospitals will not treat patients who are infected, and many schools and hospitals are reluctant to distribute government information about the disease because of the strong taboos and stigma that are attached to how the virus can be spread. Until the late 1990s, information on

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

was not widely available to the public, but this has started to change. In the late 1990s, the government started to recognize

World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immu ...

and allowed information about the disease to be published in newspapers. The number of people living in the kingdom who were infected was a closely guarded secret. However, in 2003 the government announced the number of known cases of HIV/AIDS in the country to be 6,700, and over 10,000 in June 2008.

International conventions

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ratified the International Convention against Torture in October 1997 according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Human rights of Saudi Arabia are specified in article 26 of the

Basic Law of Saudi Arabia The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia (alternative name: Basic System of Governance; , ) is a constitution-like charter divided into nine chapters, consisting of 83 articles. The Basic Law (in Article One) states that the constitution of Saudi ...

. Recently created human rights organizations include Human Rights First Society (2002), Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia (2007), Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (2009) and the government-associated

Shura Council In Arab culture, a Majlis-ash-Shura (; Shura Council in English) is an advisory council or consultative council. In Islamic context, the Majlis-ash-Shura is one of two ways that a khalifa (Islamic leader) may be selected, the other way being b ...

ratified the

Arab Charter on Human Rights The Arab Charter on Human Rights (ACHR), adopted by the Council of the League of Arab States on 22 May 2004, affirms the principles contained in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Righ ...

. In 2011, the Specialized Criminal Court was used to charge and sentence human rights activists.

Responses and criticisms

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism, Ben Emmerson, criticized Saudi Arabia for violating human rights in the name of fighting terrorism during his visit to Saudi Arabia from 30 April to 4 May 2017. According to the report, Saudi Arabia uses its terrorism tribunal and counter-terrorism law to unjustly prosecute human rights defenders, writers, and peaceful critics. At the U.N. Third Millennium Summit in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz defended Saudi Arabia's position on human rights, saying: "It is absurd to impose on an individual or a society rights that are alien to its beliefs or principles." Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs issued a statement via Twitter on 2 August 2018 expressing

's concern over the recent arrest of

, a human rights activist and sister of imprisoned Saudi blogger

, and called for the release of Saudi human rights activists. In response to Canada's criticism, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada's ambassador and froze all new trade with Canada. A joint statement released by 36 countries at the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in March 2019, condemned the murder of the Saudi journalist

, called for the release of Saudi women's rights activists detained in May 2018, and urged the kingdom to stop using counter-terrorism regulations to target dissidents and human rights activists. The letter, which is the first collective rebuke of the kingdom, demanded the release of prominent women activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul, Hatoon al-Fassi and

. In July 2019, following increased pressure from non-profit organization

Human Rights Foundation The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting and protecting human rights globally, with an emphasis on authoritarian regimes. HRF organizes the Oslo Freedom Forum. The Human Rights Foundation was founde ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

pulled out of the Jeddah World Fest, Saudi Arabia in support of the nation's suppressed women and LGBTQ community. Minaj said, "I could make one mistake & go to jail in a diff country where women have no rights," after learning about the constant abuse of human rights in the nation. The organization lauded Minaj's decision and urged other artists of the likes of

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki ( , ; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours. In 2024, Gold House recognized him as ...

and

Liam Payne Liam James Payne (29 August 1993 – 16 October 2024) was an English singer and songwriter. He was a member of the pop band One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Loui ...

from performing in the nation. In November 2019, ahead of Saudi Spanish Super Cup due to be held in January 2020, Spanish broadcaster

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

said that it will not bid for the hosting rights of the tournament because of human rights concern, especially women rights in the field of sports. "It's a country where until very recently women couldn't go to watch football," the broadcasting service said.

RFEF The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. RFEF organizes the national cup competitio ...

President

Luis Rubiales Luis Manuel Rubiales Béjar (born 23 August 1977) is a former Spanish Association football, football official and professional player who played as a Defender (association football), defender, appearing in 53 La Liga matches over three seasons. ...

, defended the claims and said, he could assure women would be allowed to enter without any restrictions. In January 2020,

alongside 11 other international rights group organizations wrote a joint letter to the

Amaury Sport Organization The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO and also A.S.O.) is a private company, founded in 1992, that is part of the privately-owned French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury (EPA). ASO organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as ...

following its decision to move

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

. The rights group in their letter accused Saudi Arabia of violating women's rights in the nation and asked the French organizer to denounce the persecution of women's rights, as well as adopt the human rights policy. "The Amaury Sport Organisation and race drivers at the Dakar Rally should speak out about the Saudi government's mistreatment of women's rights activists for advocating for the right to drive," the statement from the Human Rights Watch global initiatives director read. In January 2020, Meghan MacLaren withdrew from Saudi leg of Ladies European Tour due to be held in March 2020. The golfer cited she cannot ignore what organizations like

have highlighted. "I've decided not to play based on what I think sport is being used to do in

", she said while emphasizing on the appalling human rights record of the nation. "We take for granted a lot of the choices and freedom we have available to us, but I try to make my decisions based on who I am as a person, not just a golfer," statement from her interview further read. On 13 July 2020, Richard Masters, the CEO of

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

was urged by the families of human rights campaigners, who are in Saudi prison, to stop the takeover of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, while their loved ones remain imprisoned. On 15 January 2022, the three-time Grand Slam champion,

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...

, rejected seven-figure appearance fee to play in Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns. The event was also fiercely criticised by human rights organizations such as

and

, for attempting to cleanse the nation's reputation on the international stage.

References

External links

Review of Saudi Arabia
by the

Universal Periodic Review The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) that emerged from the 2005 UN reform process.resolution 60/251of 3 April 2006, the UPR periodically examines the human rights performance of a ...

, 6 February 2009
Where Saudis will send their most dangerous
* *
Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
{{Segregation by type, state=collapsed Law of Saudi Arabia Sectarian violence Controversies in Saudi Arabia Sectarianism

Background

Political freedom

Political prisoners

Capital punishment

Corporal punishment

Torture

Freedom of press and communication

Women's rights

Guardianship system, segregation, and restrictions

Driving

LGBT rights

Human trafficking

Racism

Antisemitism

Rights of foreigners

Migrant workers' rights

Stateless people

Laborers' rights

Sectarianism and freedom of religion

International law

Jews

Christians

Shia Muslims

2017 al-Awamiyah clashes

Charges of magic, witchcraft, and sorcery

Extraterritorial harassment, forced repatriation, and killing

Human rights organizations

Independent

Government-associated

HIV/AIDS

International conventions

Responses and criticisms

See also

References

Further reading

External links