| A new United Nations report released September 8 described a ” pandemic of impunity” in Yemen and “a consistent pattern of harm to civilians that not only occurs in the context of hostilities, but also away from the front lines.”A press release emphasized that “there are no clean hands” in the Yemen conflict and identified the following laundry list of human rights violations: “arbitrary deprivation of life, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, gender-based violence, including sexual violence, torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the recruitment and use in hostilities of children, the denial of fair trial rights, violations of fundamental freedoms, and economic, social and cultural rights.” A number of news outlets have highlighted findings from the UN investigators that Houthi rebels “recruited nearly three dozen teenage girls—some said to be survivors of sexual violence—as spies, medics, guards and members of an all-female force.” |
| Saudi Arabia In a letter submitted to the kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Human Rights Watch (HRW) requested a meeting “to discuss human rights issues of mutual interest and conduct private visits with high-profile detainees, some of whom have been prevented from contac- ting family members or lawyers for three months or longer. “The letter, signed by HRW Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adam Coogle, identifies “two prominent women’s rights activists, the popular religious figure Salman al-Awda, and former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef” as detainees who “have been cut off from the outside world for extended periods in 2020 and prevented from contacting lawyers or family members.”HRW notes that there have been allegations of torture against prisoners in Saudi Arabia, and while the kingdom’s investigation into those allegations did not find them to be true, a chance to visit those detainees “could make a credible, impartial finding that would be accepted globally.”On September 7, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor announced that eight unidentified people were sentenced in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in a process that lacked transparency and legitimacy. Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executionsdescribed it as a “parody of justice” and noted that the high-level officials involved in his assassination “have walked free from the start—barely touched by the investigation and trial.” |
| ON OUR RADARSeptember 10 – According to a new book, President Donald Trump reportedly said that he “saved [Mohammed bin Salman’s] ass” after the Jamal Khashoggi assassination and that Saudi Arabia “wouldn’t last a week if [the United States] weren’t there.” (Business Insider)September 11 – The U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will hold a hearing on the United States’ security and intelligence relationship with Saudi Arabia. (U.S. House of Representatives)September 14 – Bahrain’s High Court of Appeal will rule on an appeal filed by Abdullah al-Shamlawi, a lawyer who was sentenced to eight months in prison over tweets. (Human Rights Watch) |
