Yearbook 2019
Saudi Arabia. The trial of the people accused of the
murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during his visit to the
Saudi embassy in Istanbul last year began in early January.
The prosecutor requested the death penalty for five of the
eleven defendants. According to the Prosecutor's Office, the
defendants violated their powers when, during a hearing,
they killed Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia has previously rejected
Turkey's request for 18 suspects to be extradited and
instead tried before the Turkish court. Even at the end of
the year, the remaining remains were not found after the
Saudi free thinker.
In June, evidence emerged that Saudi Arabia's Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman and others highly regarded were
responsible for the Khashoggi assassination. UN reporter
Agn豕s Callamard said the murder should be investigated by an
independent international commission. In connection with the
anniversary of Khashoggi's murder in early October 2019, the
Saudi Crown Prince was interviewed. He then said that he
takes responsibility for the incident because it happened
"at his guard". However, he regrets that it was not he who
ordered the murder. According to Turkish intelligence
sources, the murder was not an accident, as previously
claimed. For that reason, human rights organizations
repeated their demands for a UN-led investigation.
According to
CountryAAH, sharp criticism of Saudi Arabia was addressed several
times during the year by the UN Human Rights Council. In
March, condemnation came from 36 countries, including
several European countries and Australia, Canada and New
Zealand, on human rights violations, especially women's
rights. In April, mass executions were carried out on 37
people convicted of hostile activities, by the country's
Ministry of the Interior called terror-related crimes. One
of those executed was the young Saudi Mujtiba al-Sweikat,
who was arrested in 2012 when, as a 17-year-old, he was on
his way to the United States for study. He was accused of
planning and participating in hostile protests in connection
with the Arab Spring of 2011. After six years in prison, he
was executed on April 23. In the first four months of the
year alone, at least 100 people had been executed in Saudi
Arabia;
Regarding women's rights, it was decided in August that
women over the age of 21 should continue to be able to apply
for a passport and make a trip without the approval of their
male guardian. Under the new regulations, via a royal
decree, it will also be easier for women to work, among
other things, and to be entitled to the custody of children.
However, permission from the male guardian still applies if
one wants to marry or move away from home, and many female
activists who demanded to have the guardianship suspended or
demanded the right to a driver's license (before that right
came in June last year) are still awaiting trial.
Another relief that came during the year was the release
of the requirement in December with separate entrances for
men and women to restaurants and cafes. It is not clear from
the decision whether the ban on gender segregation within
restaurants was also lifted. However, it is still prohibited
for women and men who do not know each other to be together
in other public places, for example in schools and
hospitals.
In September, a drone attack was carried out against
Saudi oil facilities. Two sites northeast of the capital
Riyadh, owned by the world's largest oil company Saudi
Aramco, were attacked. The Iran-backed huthirbeles in Yemen
took on the deed, but probably Iran itself was behind the
attack. A few days after the attack, gasoline prices were
raised by 15 cents. This did not prevent Saudi Aramco from
being listed on the stock exchange in November. This became
the largest stock exchange listing in world history, with
the total valuation expected to be $ 1,700 billion. This
corresponds to 50% more than the total market capitalization
of the US giants Apple and Microsoft.
|
