June 21, 2022, is the sixth anniversary of Mohammed bin Salman's assumption of the throne in Saudi Arabia. Significant changes have occurred in Saudi Arabia since bin Salman rose to power. However, the human rights situation witnessed a significant deterioration, and unprecedented bloody numbers, in which bin Salman had the upper hand, in addition to the mandate of the Covenant. Bin Salman holds several significant political positions, including the Ministry of Defense, the presidency of the Council for Political and Security Affairs, the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, and others.
In observing the trajectory of violations, the escalation in them appears. In recent years they have reached wider segments of society and stifled any voice that contradicts official policies or defends human rights.
July 2017:
- On July 11, 2017, Saudi Arabia executed 4 detainees: Amjad Al-Moaibed, Youssef Al-Mushaikhis, Zaher Al-Basri, and Mahdi Al-Sayegh.
- On July 28, 2017, the Saudi government announced that the rest of Awamiya's population, originally estimated at 35,000, must leave within four hours, as mediators conveyed official instructions and informed residents that they had to evacuate through specific exits, Carrying white flags, despite the United Nations deeming what is happening in Awamiya a forced eviction.
August 2017:
- On August 26, the Saudi-led coalition admitted its responsibility for killing dozens of civilians in the bombing of the city of Sana'a in Yemen.
September 2017:
- On September 9, 2017, the Saudi authorities launched a campaign of arrests targeting several clerics, academics, activists, writers, and journalists, including the well-known preacher Salman al-Awda, researcher Ali al-Omari, and researcher Hassan Farhan al-Maliki.
- On September 26, 2017, the traffic rules and regulations were amended to lift the ban on women driving.
October 2017:
- On October 23, 2017, after about a month and a half of arrest, Dr. Abdullah al-Awda, son of Sheikh Salman al-Awda, residing in the United States, confirmed that his brothers, including children, were prevented from traveling outside the country for unknown reasons.
November 2017:
- On November 4, 2017, a campaign of legal prosecutions began for several senior Saudi state officials, the ruling family, and famous economic figures on corruption charges, led by a high anti-corruption committee headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
January 2018:
- On January 4, 2018, the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh issued a 7-year prison sentence against human rights defender Sheikh Muhammad Hassan Al-Habib.
- On January 21, 2018, the young Habib Al-Shuwaikhat died in prison after the Royal Court ignored a message from his family confirming that his health was deteriorating.
April 2018:
- On April 6, 2018, Mohammed bin Salman announced in a media interview that they are working on reducing death sentences, explaining that new laws are being worked on.
- On April 18, 2018, the Saudi government opened the country's first cinema in the King Abdullah Financial District, in the capital, Riyadh, after an absence of more than three decades.
May 2018:
- On May 17, 2018, the government launched a series of arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, including Dr. Muhammad Al-Rabiah, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Mudaimegh, and the activist Loujain Al-Hathloul, the activist Aziza Al-Yousef and the activist Iman Al-Nafjan.
June 2018:
- Saudi Arabia arrested human rights defender Nouf Abdel Aziz after security forces raided her house, where she was taken to an unknown location. Days after her arrest, human rights defender Maya Al-Zahrani was arrested for publishing her friend Nouf's article and showing her solidarity with her.
July 2018:
- In late July 2018, Saudi Arabia arrested two prominent human rights defenders, Nassima Al-Sadah and Samar Badawi.
August 2018:
- In August 2018, the Public Prosecution requested the death penalty against human rights defender Israa Al-Ghomgham, in a dangerous precedent in the country, as it is the first time that the Public Prosecution has requested the death penalty against an activist woman.
October 2018:
- On October 2, 2018, journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared from the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Days later, information indicated that he had been killed.
February 2019:
- In February 2019, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial or summary executions, Agnes Callamard, confirmed that Saudi officials, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
April 2019:
- On April 4, 2019, Saudi Arabia arrested at least fifteen writers, bloggers, and activists, in addition to reports of other numbers, according to various sources.
- On April 23, without the knowledge of the families of the victims, the Saudi government published horrific news that included the execution of 37 prisoners, including minors, demonstrators, and the disabled.
May 2019:
- On May 11, 2019, the Presidency of State Security carried out a violent raid that lasted for 7 hours, during which it killed 8 people and caused extensive property damage in the town of Sanabis on Tarut Island, in the east of the country.
August 2019:
- In August 2018, the Public Prosecution requested the crucifixion of Murtaja Al-Qurairis, the youngest political prisoner in the country, based on accusations leveled against him when he was 11 years old.
September 2019:
- In September 2019, the family of the child Nawar Khaled Al-Anazi, who belongs to the Bedoon category, published a video clip of her crying after being expelled from school on the first day of school for not having identification papers.
October 2019:
- On October 27, 2019, the Criminal Court in the Tabuk region, northern Saudi Arabia, issued a ruling to kill the child Abdullah Al-Hwaiti, who was arrested when he was 14 years old.
January 2020:
- On January 22, 2020, special rapporteurs from the Human Rights Council expressed their grave concern over the information they received regarding Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's violation of international human rights standards by publishing digital programs to monitor the owner of the Washington Post and Amazon CEO, Jeffrey Bezos.
April 2020:
- On April 13, 2020, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia killed Abdul Rahman Al-Hwaiti just hours after he posted a video on social media expressing his rejection of the forced eviction, which is taking place as part of the government's "NEOM" project.
- On April 27, 2020, the official Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia announced that children are no longer subject to the death penalty. Based on a royal decree, the commission stated that anyone convicted of crimes that occurred when they were under the age of 18 would face a maximum sentence of ten years in a juvenile prison.
- On April 24, 2020, human rights defender Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid died in the hospital, after a series of medical negligence in detention.
June 2020:
- On June 3, 2020, Saudi Arabia arrested a famous Snapchat influencer known as Abu Al-Feda, because of his reference to measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
July 2020:
- On July 19, 2020, journalist Saleh al-Shehi died, a month after his sudden release, and information indicated that his health had deteriorated in prison.
October 2020:
- Saudi Arabia failed to obtain membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council (2021-2023)
- On October 26, 2020, activist Loujain Al-Hathloul announced a hunger strike in protest against her prolonged detention and prison conditions.
December 2020:
- On December 7, 2020, security forces stormed the home of the prominent cleric Mr. Hashem and arrested him.
March 2021:
- On March 1, 2021, Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other senior Saudi officials accused of crimes against humanity.
May 2021:
- On May 8, 2021, the detainee, Zuhair Ali Al-Sharida Al-Mohammed, died after being infected with the Coronavirus in Al-Ha'ir Prison, and information about medical negligence he was exposed to.
- In late May, the Saudi government arrested Dr. Lina al-Sharif, because of her activism on social media.
June 2021
- On June 15, 2021, the Saudi government killed Mustafa Al Darwish, who faced charges, some of which go back to when he was a minor.
- Saudi Arabia arrested activist Asmaa Al-Subaie and subjected her to enforced disappearance, due to her activity on Twitter.
July 2021:
- Police forces arrested online activist Abdullah bin Awad al-Mubaraki from his home in Yanbu, because he expressed his opinion and participated in campaigns on social media to defend political and civil rights, and protest government policies.
October 2021:
- Ali Al-Nimr was released from prison on October 27, 2021, after spending 10 years in it while he was at risk of execution on charges brought against him while he was a minor.
- On October 12, the preacher Musa Al-Qarni died in prison after 15-year detention. Later, the United Nations special rapporteurs sent a letter to the Saudi government in which they held her responsible for his death, and indicated that the information indicated that the death was not natural, but rather the result of a shock.
January 2022:
- In January 2022, Saudi Arabia began a large-scale eviction of the residents of several neighborhoods in the city of Jeddah, and the follow-ups confirmed that the evictions involved many violations of international and local laws.
- On March 12, 2022, the Saudi Ministry of Interior published a statement announcing the mass execution of 81 people.
May 2022:
- In late May, Mr. Muhammad Reda Al-Salman, a prominent cleric in Al-Ahsa, was arrested. He is also a poet and writer, and he has well-known writings.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights confirms that human rights violations in Saudi Arabia have escalated during the past five years. The organization notes that the most prominent features of bin Salman's reign are violence and abuse.On the one hand, arbitrary arrests affected individuals who expressed their opinion, clerics, and human rights defenders more broadly. On the other hand, there is confusion about the execution of the death penalty and its targeting of minors and activists, and there is a discrepancy between promises and figures. Along with the increasing use of violence in prisons and extrajudicial, so has the disregard for human rights. In addition to this, the use of violence in prisons and outside the judiciary has increased, and human rights are neglected or targeted in actions that the Saudi government says are developmental.
ESOHR believes that continuous human rights violations during the past five years show the use of human rights in allegations of reform and political propaganda, while all political and civil rights witness grave violations.