On June 9, 2021, Dietmar Köster, a German politician and Member of the European Parliament, has asked a number of questions to the to the Vice-President of the European Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. One of the questions focused on Human Right Defenders In Saudi Arabia.
In one of the questions, Mr. Köster stated that The Amnesty International report on Saudi Arabia shows that repression of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly has intensified. Among those who have been harassed, arbitrarily detained, prosecuted and/or jailed are government critics, women’s rights activists, human rights defenders, relatives of activists, journalists, members of the Shi’a minority and online critics of the government’s responses to the COVID‑19 pandemic.
“According to the same report, virtually all known Saudi Arabian human rights defenders inside the country were detained or imprisoned at the end of the year. Grossly unfair trials continued before the Specialized Criminal Court and other courts. Courts resorted extensively to the death penalty and people were executed for a wide range of crimes. Migrant workers were even more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of the pandemic, and thousands were arbitrarily detained in dire conditions, leading to an unknown number of deaths.”
The MEP then proceeded to ask: “Does the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) intend to discuss this report with the Saudi Arabian authorities?, adding: “Does the VP/HR intend to discuss this report within the EU Foreign Affairs Council?”
“Repression of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly intensified. Among those harassed, arbitrarily detained, prosecuted and/or jailed were government critics, women’s rights activists, human rights defenders, relatives of activists, journalists, members of the Shi’a minority and online critics of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually all known Saudi Arabian human rights defenders inside the country were detained or imprisoned at the end of the year.
In November 2020, the G20 summit was held virtually, chaired by Saudi Arabia. More than 220 civil society organizations pledged not to participate in the parallel civil society engagement process to protest against Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
