Without warning, and in the framework of promoting a new form for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after Muhammad bin Salman assumed the mandate of the Covenant, King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued on January 27, 2022, a royal decree that February 22 of each year be a day for the anniversary of the founding of the Saudi state, under the name "Foundation Day", and becomes an official leave.
Various regions of Saudi Arabia are witnessing cultural, artistic and popular celebrations and events, by government orders, to celebrate this day, for the second year in a row. While the official media tries to link this occasion to the date of the founding of the country, it joins a series of official practices that attempt to obscure the reality of violations and repression.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights believes that the celebration of this day comes in light of the high intensity of repression, the multiplication of murder numbers, and the policies of forced displacement from the regions.
ESOHR points out that the covenant that announced Foundation Day is the same one that witnessed more than 1,000 executions, including 3 mass executions. The executions that have been carried out since King Salman came to power in 2015 have targeted individuals, including minors and those accused of demonstrating, after they were subjected to widespread violations, including torture and lack of fair trials. It is also the era that began the policy of arbitrary withholding of bodies.
In addition, while a new phase is being promoted in which the regime allows various kinds of celebrations and joy, Saudi Arabia has issued, in recent years, record sentences that reached a hundred years against individuals for expressing their opinion, including Salma Al-Shihab and Noura Al-Qahtani.
The organisation stresses that while the government is promoting that this day seeks to honour the individuals who participated in building the state and its constants, it was announced while Saudi Arabia is arresting, forcibly disappearing, and clamping down on academics, clerics, reformists, and the most prominent human rights defenders.
ESOHR considers that the announcement of the Foundation Day, and the celebrations that accompany it, are added to the attempts to wash away the repressive and bloody image of Saudi Arabia that was evident in the current era. The organization considers that the establishment and celebrations on the ruins of human rights is another violation added to the record of the reign of King Salman and his crown prince, Muhammad.