Posts Tagged ‘Riyadh’
December 18, 2018
TRT World carries an interesting piece about Riyadh being celebrated as “capital of media”. The piece gives a detailed account of the Khashoggi affair and rightly wonders how this sits with having a media event.
People attend a symbolic funeral prayer for Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the courtyard of Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey November 16, 2018 (Reuters)
The event, which will take place on December 19, almost three months after Khashoggi’s killing, comes following the Council of Arab Information Ministers’ decision to choose Riyadh as the Arab Media Capital last May, according to a statement by the Media and Communication sector of the Arab League.
….For years the Saudi Arabian government has been accused of human rights violations, including imprisoning human rights defenders and silencing its critics. However, human rights organisations have been increasingly expressing their concerns since the crown prince’s takeover in 2015, saying that the limited freedom of expression under his father King Salman has been completely shut down. Three Saudi princes living in the Europe, all critics of the Saudi government, disappeared between 2015 and 2017. Human Rights Watch reported in May 2018 that the kingdom arbitrarily detained thousands more people in a six-month period, without referring them to courts for criminal proceedings.
“[MBS] wants to control the whole scene: He’s a transformer, he wants to have a monopoly on the narrative, on the ideas that are being exchanged in Saudi Arabia. And right now he does have total control,” Khashoggi was quoted as saying in March 2018, in an article by the Columbia Journalism Review. “The American media should not see the cup half full—see only the reform. Yes, he’s fulfilling a promise to purge radicalism in Saudi Arabia. At the same time however, he’s not allowing any form of expression, except expression that supports him,” he said. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2018/10/19/novak-djokovic-and-rafael-nadal-have-a-chance-to-score-a-point-for-human-rights-defenders/]
https://www.trtworld.com/mea/arab-league-to-celebrate-riyadh-as-capital-of-media-amid-growing-pressure-22560
Posted in HRW, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Arab League, HRW, Jamal Khashoggi, journalists, MBS, media, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, TRT World
August 20, 2013
Mrinalini Shinde wrote a post in Polymic of 17 August about the human rights situation in Saoudi Arabia in good polemic style under the title: “Starting a Human Rights Association in This Country? Prepare to Face Jail Time”. She is an undergraduate student of law at National Law School of India University, interested in gender and sustainability issues. .. She has volunteered with the Human Right Law Network, and has conducted research in family laws, and gender justice. see: Mrinalini Shinde.
© Climber1 (Wikimedia Commons)
The article is not news but provides an excellent example of how students in human rights can write up information Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Amnesty International, Bajadi, human rights, human rights activists, Human Rights Defenders, human rights groups, india university, Mrinalini Shinde, National Law School of India University, Riyadh, saoudi arabia, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, students
May 28, 2013
In an interesting blog post for Al-Monitor Bayan Perazzo (a professor in Saudi Arabia) writes on May 27 about the background to the human rights movement in Saudi Arabia. His detailed analysis seems very sound Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: ACPRA, Al-Monitor, Bayan Perazzo, Civil society, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights movement, human rights ngo, Interior Ministry, Middle East, Mohammed al-Bijadi, oppressive government, religion, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, Saudi government, sectarianism, twitter
March 12, 2013
Last Saturday, two distinguished human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia were sentenced to jail in Riyadh for establishing an unlicensed human rights organization. Mohammed Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Al-Hamad (or Hamid) established the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) in 2009. The organization’s mission is to promote human rights awareness within the Kingdom. ACPRA called for political representation of Saudi citizens and creation of laws to protect minorities. The organization also worked on documenting human rights abuses within the Kingdom. Despite multiple efforts to license ACPRA, the organization’s petitions were rejected and the group was eventually banned by Saudi authorities. The two men were sentenced to 10 and 11 years in prison on accusations including the rather illiberal sounding “breaking allegiance to the King”, “disseminating false information through foreign entities” and “forming an unlicensed organization“. This trial and the ensuing heavy sentence are clearly linked to them exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and association.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdullah Al-Hamad, Abdullah Al-Hamid, ACPRA, Alkarama, Civil society, freedom of association, freedom of expression, Freedom of speech, Human right, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights organization, illegal detention, independence of the judiciary, jail, Middle East, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Muftah, political prisoners, prison, Riyadh, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, Sentence (law)
