With the rise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to power, Saudi Arabia previously known to boycott Western culture has been on modernization drive with several reforms but is also accompanied by repressions.
Despite all the new reforms that have brought a massive change in Saudi Arabia, Prince Salman’s rise has been accompanied by “deepening repression and abusive practices”, Human Rights Watch said yesterday, TH reports.
Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder that has shocked the world, had left Saudis chastened where the harassment of families, arbitrary travel bans still continue in the nation.
“Detaining citizens for peaceful criticism of the government’s policies or human rights advocacy is not a new phenomenon in Saudi Arabia,” the New York-based group said in a report.
“But what has made the post-2017 arrest waves notable and different, however, is the sheer number and range of individuals targeted over a short period of time as well as the introduction of new repressive practices.”
However, HRW said all the new reforms that has brought change in the nation where nothing but a smokescreen for the ongoing detention of dozens of dissidents, some allegedly tortured in custody, and a lack of accountability for those responsible for Khashoggi’s murder.
“Important social reforms enacted under Prince Mohammed have been accompanied by deepening repression and abusive practices meant to silence dissidents and critics,” it said.