Senator Bernie Sanders: Why the United States Must End Its Involvement in the Devastating Saudi-led War in Yemen.

Dec 14, 2022

What's behind China's Focus on the Arab World? | DW News

Dec 9, 2022 | Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on a "pioneering trip" to "open a new era of China's relations with the Arab world' - in Xi's own words. The visit is Xi's first to the kingdom in six years. The two countries affirmed their ties and signed a series of strategic deals - including one with tech giant Huawei. The Chinese leader is expected to meet more Gulf oil producers later.

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Qatar’s World Cup Showcases Renewed Ties With Saudi Arabia, but Scars Remain

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Gulf neighbors were split for years in a bitter regional dispute. Now, the glare of attention provided by the soccer tournament is highlighting their complicated reunion.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, on the sidelines of the World Cup in Doha, Qatar. | Qatar News Agency
AL-AHSA, Saudi Arabia — There used to be so many Qataris in the bazaar in the Saudi oasis of Al-Ahsa, hunting for deals on spices and sandals, that some merchants called it “the Qatar market.” Qataris would cross the border and drive 100 miles through the desert to reach the towns of Al-Ahsa, loading their SUVs with sacks of flour, dining in the restaurants and filling the hotels.

Then came “the crisis,” as people at the market call it. Saudi Arabia, along with Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, severed ties with Qatar in 2017 and effectively isolated the tiny country, accusing its government of supporting terrorism and meddling in their internal affairs. Qatari officials denied the allegations and accused Saudi Arabia and the other countries of creating a “blockade” against their nation. Saudi Arabia closed the border — Qatar’s only land border — and Qatari business in Al-Ahsa withered.

Few people felt more relief than the merchants in Al-Ahsa when the split ended last year, as Saudi officials moved to resolve conflicts abroad that had become costly and contentious. Last week, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia clasped hands and grinned at the opening ceremony of the soccer World Cup in Qatar, showing off the repair of a rift that reshaped the Gulf. » | Vivian Nereim | Wednesday, November 30, 2022

UK Condemns ‘Abhorrent’ Torture of Death Row Inmate in Saudi Arabia

THE GUARDIAN: Foreign Office minister says case of Hussein Abo al-Kheir raised ‘at highest level’ and demands end to executions

Hussein Abo al-Kheir is on death row in Saudi Arabia for drug offences; he has said he only confessed under torture. Photograph: European Saudi organisation for human rights
The British government has condemned as “abhorrent” what it said was the clear torture of a Jordanian national on death row in Saudi Arabia for drug offences, and demanded an end to a sudden spate of executions in the Gulf monarchy.

It was the first time the British government has made the allegation.

After growing pressure to comment on the issue, Foreign Office minister David Rutley told parliament that London had raised Hussein Abo al-Kheir’s case “at the highest level”.

The kingdom had previously given a commitment it would not impose the death penalty for drug offences, but has suddenly resumed executions. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Monday, November 28, 2022

It is to be presumed that this execution, along with all others in the Kingdom, is to take place “In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful”. – Mark Alexander

Saudi Execution Spree Continues as Fears Rise for Jordanian on Death Row

THE GUARDIAN: David Davis asks foreign secretary and Saudi ambassador to intervene in reprieve for Hussein Abo al-Kheir

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed two more Saudi citizens for drug offences, taking the total number of executions in the past fortnight to 17.

The kingdom had previously given a commitment it would not impose the death penalty for drug offences, but has suddenly gone back on its word, executing seven Saudi and 10 foreign nationals. Saudi Arabia has already executed 130 people this year.

The spate of executions, as the kingdom celebrates its victory over Argentina in the World Cup, has prompted the former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis to write to the UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, and the Saudi ambassador in the UK to ask them to intervene to reprieve Hussein Abo al-Kheir, a Jordanian man. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Tuesday, November 22, 2022

US Court Says Saudi Crown Prince 'Immune' from Khashoggi Murder Suit | DW News

Nov 19, 2022 | Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi dissident who fled to the US. As a Washington Post columnist he harshly criticized the kingdom and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Four years ago Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. US intelligence say the Crown Prince ordered the crime. Khashoggi's fiance sued the crown prince in a US federal court. The prince's attorneys argued a head of government enjoys sovereign immunity, and cannot be sued. Today, the Biden administration agreed. Khashoggi's fiance says the news felt like the man she loved had died yet again, while the man who had him killed escaped justice yet again.

Related links here.

The Blasphemy of Ashraf Fayadh

Oct 11, 2022 | After eight years imprisonment, as of August 23, 2022, Ashraf Fayadh is finally free. But why was he ever arrested in the first place?

U.S. Backs Immunity for Saudi Leader in Lawsuit Over Khashoggi Murder

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The State Department said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, should have legal immunity as the head of the Saudi government.

President Biden meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia in July. Prince Mohammed became prime minister in September, formalizing the power he had wielded for years as the country’s de facto ruler. | Doug Mills/The New York Times
ISTANBUL — The Biden administration has declared that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia should be granted immunity in a U.S. legal case over his role in the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, effectively blocking yet another effort to hold the kingdom’s leader accountable for the grisly crime.

Mr. Khashoggi was a well-known Saudi journalist who fled Saudi Arabia for the United States and published columns in The Washington Post criticizing Prince Mohammed’s policies. In October 2018, he was killed and dismembered by a team of Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain papers he needed to marry his Turkish fiancée. U.S. intelligence concluded that Prince Mohammed had ordered the operation.

Prince Mohammed, 37, became prime minister in September, formalizing the power he had wielded for years as the country’s de facto ruler, although his elderly father, King Salman, remains the official head of state. In a letter to the Justice Department on Thursday, the State Department said Prince Mohammed should be “immune while in office” as the head of the Saudi government, referring to his role as prime minister.

Prince Mohammed has said repeatedly that he had no prior knowledge of the plot against Mr. Khashoggi, but that he accepted symbolic responsibility for it as the nation’s de facto ruler. » | Ben Hubbard | Friday, November 18, 2022

Biden administration says Mohammed bin Salman should be granted sovereign immunity in Khashoggi civil case: Court filing says Saudi crown prince’s promotion to the role of prime minister meant that he was ‘the sitting head of government and, accordingly, immune’ »

Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing: The US has determined that Saudi Arabia's de facto leader - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - has immunity from a lawsuit filed by murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancé[e]. »

Hatice Cengiz Is Continuing Her Fight for Justice | DW News

Nov 10, 2022 | It's been more than four years since Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, where he went to collect the papers he needed to marry his fiance, Turkish national Hatice Cengiz. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman denied ordering the killing but later admitted it took place "under his watch".

Raif Badawi’s Cruel Imprisonment

Mar 30, 2022 | "In 2012, Saudi human rights activist Raif Badawi found himself beneath the heel of the repressive Gulf state's censorship laws, imprisoned and later flogged for blasphemy. Ten years later, he is released from prison, but his struggle for true freedom is far from over."

If you like EXMNA's work, please support the organization on Twitter @exmuslimsorg and/or donate to the organization here.

Gravitas: Saudi Arabia Wants to Join BRICS

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has claimed that Saudi Arabia wants to join BRICS. He says Crown Prince MBS showed interest in joining the bloc during his recent meeting with him. Is Riyadh trying to disassociate itself from the West? Molly Gambhir reports.

Saudi Arabia Sentences US Citizen to 16 Years over Tweets Critical of Regime

THE GUARDIAN: Move is another sign of kingdom’s aggressive crackdown on any whiff of dissent posted on social media

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, a dual US-Saudi national, was arrested in November 2021 upon landing in Riyadh for what was supposed to be a two-week stay. Photograph: Ibrahim Almadi
An American citizen has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Saudi Arabia for tweeting critically about the Saudi regime, in another sign of the kingdom’s aggressive crackdown on any whiff of dissent posted on social media.

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, a dual US-Saudi national, was arrested in November 2021 upon landing in Riyadh for what was supposed to be a two-week stay in his native country for a work and personal trip.

The case is now the second known incident of a Saudi who was living abroad being arrested upon their return for using social media.

Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi student living in the UK and attending Leeds University, was sentenced to 34 years in prison for having a Twitter account and following and retweeting dissidents and activists. She was arrested and convicted after returning home for a holiday.

In Almadi’s case, prosecutors focused on 14 tweets that the American published over a seven-year period while he was living in Florida, including posts that referenced Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington | Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Saudi Arabia Official Responds to Biden's Threats over Oil Cuts

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir talks to CNN's Becky Anderson about OPEC+ production cuts and responds to criticism of the move from US leaders.

US Democrats Threaten Saudi Arabia with Arms Freeze over Oil Output

THE GUARDIAN: Congress members raise prospect of one-year sales ban unless kingdom reverses Opec+ decision to cut production

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Joe Biden in Jeddah in July. The US president has reiterated his pledge to take action over Riyadh’s decision to cut output. Photograph: Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace/AFP/Getty Images
Democrats in the US Congress have issued a fresh ultimatum to Saudi Arabia, giving the kingdom weeks to reverse an Opec+ decision to roll back oil production or face a potential one-year freeze on all arms sales.

The threat came as Joe Biden reiterated his pledge to take action over Riyadh’s decision last week to cut oil output by 2m barrels a day, which Democrats have said would help “fuel Vladimir Putin’s war machine” and hurt American consumers at the petrol pump.

The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters the US president was also looking at a possible halt in arms sales as part of a broader re-evaluation of the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, but that no move was imminent. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Julian Borger in Washington | Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Saudi Arabia is choosing friends on its own terms and Biden is not one of them: Reactions in Washington to slashing oil supply have not concerned Mohammed bin Salman; nor have the optics of indirectly boosting Putin’s war »

The Blasphemy of Ashraf Fayadh

After eight years imprisonment, as of August 23, 2022, Ashraf Fayadh is finally free. But why was he ever arrested in the first place?

Risking Death to Tell the Truth: Saudi Arabia’s LGBT+ Community

With the recent takeover of Newcastle United by The Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF) more questions over Saudi Arabia’s attitude towards human rights have arisen. Primarily the treatment of the LGBT+ community.

The Athletic Adam Crafton has spoken to LGBT+ people in Saudi Arabia about the awful conditions they live in and what they think of Newcastle's takeover.

Illustrated by Philippe Fenner.

Saudi Officials Conduct Raid in Capital, Seizes Rainbow Toys | International News | WION

Jun 16, 2022 | Authorities in Saudi Arabia are cracking down on homosexuality-related goods in the country. Shops in the national capital of Riyadh were raided by the officials where they seized rainbow-colored toys and articles of clothing.

After Homophobic Assault, Gay Middle Eastern Man Refuses to Hide. “Yes, I Identify as a Gay Man.” | Reupload

The last summer before moving from Saudi Arabia to the United States, Jawad Bandar came out to his close friends. They all seemed to take it well - or so he thought. On one of his last nights in Saudi Arabia, Jawad was threatened by a group of men wielding bats. Though he escaped harm’s way, he later found out that his would-be attackers were tipped off by some people he thought were his friends. Rather than hide or retreat to the closet, Jawad took a different approach - upon relocating to Dearborn, Michigan, Jawad began living life as an open and unapologetically gay man.

Yes, gay Saudis. Imagine that! There are plenty of them, I can assure you. I saw and met more gay men when I worked there many years ago than I have ever met or seen in the West! Unfortunately, I wasn’t out in those days, and punishments for being gay were (and still are) brutal, harsh and cruel, otherwise I could have had a ball! – © Mark Alexander

Saudi Interrogation | Locked Up Abroad

A man arrested under suspicion of being a homosexual is subject to harsh questioning.

Saudi Seizes Rainbow Toys in Hhomosexuality' Crackdown | WION Fineprint

Jun 16, 2022 | Saudi Arabia is seizing rainbow-coloured toys and articles of clothing from shops in an apparent crackdown on homosexuality in the kingdom. Officials say the colours send a "poisoned message" to children. Molly Gambhir tells you more