Advocacy / Saudi Arabia
New assault on freedom of expression, thought and belief as Saudi authorities put football fans on trial for chants
MENA Rights Group joins 8 civil society organisations in condemning Saudi authorities' prosecution of football fans for their chants during a recent match under the repressive Anti-Cybercrime Law.
CSOs express deep concern at the systematic human rights violations in Saudi Arabia
On March 15, 2024, Right Livelihood, ALQST for Human Rights and MENA Rights Group delivered a joint oral statement before the Human Rights Council (HRC), during the general debate of its 55th session, highlighting the systematic human rights violations committed by Saudi authorities.
Bulgaria should not deport Saudi activist Abdulrahman al-Khalidi and should immediately release him
MENA Rights Group joins a coalition of civil society organisations in urging Bulgarian authorities not to deport Abdulrahman al-Khalidi, a Saudi activist currently detained in Bulgaria. The organisations further call on Bulgarian authorities to release him from detention and reconsider his asylum application.
IWD 2024: CSOs renew their call on Saudi authorities to release jailed women’s rights activists
On International Women's Day 2024, MENA Rights Group led a coalition of civil society organisations in renewing our call on Saudi authorities to release women human rights defenders, women’s rights activists and their supporters who are detained in contravention of international human rights standards. We further urge the authorities to lift travel bans on any women activists and to abolish the male guardianship system.
Saudi Human Rights Commission a mere whitewashing tool, say NGOs
MENA Rights Group, ALQST for Human Rights and the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights publish an in-depth report detailing the Saudi Human Rights Commission's role in whitewashing the Kingdom's egregious human rights abuses.
Civil society urges BIE Member States not to vote for Saudi Arabia to host the World Expo 2030
A coalition of civil society organisations led by MENA Rights Group urges the Bureau International des Expositions’ Member States not to vote for Saudi Arabia to host the World Expo in 2030 given the Kingdom’s documented and internationally recognised appalling human rights record.
Saudi human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani still disappeared after one year
Marking 1 year since the forcible disappearance of human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani, MENA Rights Group joins civil society organisations in calling on Saudi authorities to clarify his fate and whereabouts, to allow him contact with his family and to release him immediately and unconditionally.
UN Human Rights Council must hold Saudi Arabia accountable for enforced disappearances
With Right Livelihood and ALQST for Human Rights, we delivered a joint oral statement during the 54th session of the Human Rights Council to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. In this statement, we raised the case of Saudi human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani, who has been forcibly disappeared since October 2022, and called on Saudi Arabia to end its widespread practice of enforced disappearance.
Twitter must ensure user safety as Saudi Arabia issue first death sentence for social media activity
MENA Rights Group joins 15 civil society organisations in condemning Saudi Arabia's use of X (formerly Twitter) as a surveillance tool to crack down on free speech and calling on X to respect human rights, including the right to free expression and the right to privacy, and mitigate any adverse human rights impacts linked to the platform's services and products –including protecting users’ safety and even lives, the right to anonymity.
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention calls for immediate release of Saudi women’s rights activists Salma al-Shehab and Nourah al-Qahtani
Following a complaint submitted by ALQST for Human Rights, Democracy for the Arab World, Freedom Initiative, Human Rights Foundation and MENA Rights Group, the UNWGAD issued an Opinion qualifying the detention of Saudi activists Salma al-Shehab and Nourah al-Qahtani as arbitrary and in violation of international human rights standards.