Beneath the news of the western media,our trusted friend and ally has been ruthlessly cracking down on the Saudi people. Here is an excerpt of Amnesty International’s press release of their new report on the Saudi government’s response to Arab Spring protests in the country:
Amnesty International said that the government continues to detain thousands of people, many of them without charge or trial, on terrorism-related grounds. Torture and other ill-treatment in detention remains rife.
In April 2011, an Interior Ministry spokesperson said that around 5,000 people connected to the “deviant group”, meaning al-Qa’ida, had been questioned and referred for trials.
Amnesty International said that since February 2011, when sporadic demonstrations began – in defiance of a permanent national ban on protests – the government had carried out a crackdown that included the arrest of hundreds of mostly Shi’a Muslims in the restive Eastern Province.
…In July 2011 Amnesty International published a leaked copy of a secret draft anti-terror law, which would allow the Saudi Arabian authorities to prosecute peaceful dissent as a terrorist crime and permit extended detention without charge or trial.
If the law was to be passed without being amended, terrorist crimes would include “endangering… national unity” and “harming the reputation of the state or its position”. Questioning the integrity of the King would carry a minimum prison sentence of 10 years.
Should we expect sanctions… orrr….?
"Should we expect sanctions… orrr….?" Expect neither because our own elites are busily working to do likewise right here and right now.
how come western media never mentions the people who are murdered and buried in the desert by wahabis saudis like indonesian, bangladeshi and pakistani workers…..
or that shiite women are normally raped, sometimes violently and brutally to the point of death by government police
or that shiite men are buried alive in the desert by government police for no reason other than pure hate
I wonder when Amnesty will actually bother to mention these crimes
Great piece, John.
This story, the coverup of the atrocities in Bahrain, the deep repression in Egypt, the atrocities now going on in Libya, many racist in nature, are among the many things covered up by the press.
Libya for example has dropped from the news. And Amnesty always soft peddles atrocities committed by Israel and its puppet.
We should see some condemnation. I mean torture and indefinite detention? – who does this Protector of the Holy Places and King think he is, a US president?
There should be a "Saudi Spring". The USA & its allies should cut military aid. Saudi Arabia is the most repressive nation in the Arab and Muslim world. Women are repressed. There is no freedom of religion, freedom of speech or freedom of the press. Non Muslims are not allowed to enter Mecca. Saudi Arabia backed Bahrain's government suppression of its protesters.
The Senate has just given our military the same powers the Saudi authorities enjoy—and none too soon for the financial collapse!
The question is not about our hypocritical foreign policy, but when do the mass detainments occur here.
Non Muslims are not allowed to enter Mecca!- Correction please :Non-Muslims are very much allowed to enter the city of Mecca but prohibited from entering the central 10kms perimeter around the Holy Mosque (Haram boundary). There are numerous hospitals and companies employing non-Muslims in the city of Mecca.
I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog related to Repression in Saudi Arabia especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the good work.