Thread by @BklynBckstretch

It's that time of year again! Saudi Cup weekend!

So let's take a stroll through this year's @hrw Saudi Arabia report.

Guess what? This thread is LOOOOONG...because the human rights abuses are myriad & documented.

"Saudi authorities continued their campaign to crack down on peaceful social media activity. On May 29, 2024, Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism tribunal, the Specialized Criminal Court, convicted Asaad al-Ghamdi, 47, a Saudi teacher, of several criminal offenses...

"related solely to his peaceful expression online. He is the brother of Mohammed al-Ghamdi, a retired Saudi teacher, who was sentenced to death in July 2023 based solely on his posts on X and YouTube activity."

"Between March 2022 & June 2023, Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the southern border with Yemen.

"Migrant workers represent 42 percent of the country’s population.

"Yet despite their indispensable contributions, they face widespread labor abuses across employment sectors and geographic regions, and Saudi authorities are systematically failing to protect them from and remedy these abuses.

"The Building and Wood Workers’ International Union filed a complaint at the International Labour Organization against the Saudi Arabian Government regarding exploitative living & working conditions among Saudi-based migrant workers...

"...ahead of the December decision by FIFA to grant Saudi Arabia hosting rights for the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

"These abuses are enabled by Saudi Arabia’s kafala (sponsorship) system that ties the legal status of migrant workers to their employer."

"Saudi Arabia’s legal and regulatory framework fails to address widespread abuses from the kafala system that grants employers’ extensive control over workers’ lives despite several rounds of labor reforms.

"Additionally, Saudi Arabia restrictions on free expression prevents workers from establishing unions and collective bargaining for better labor protections."

"Rampant abuses have been documented in Saudi Arabia’s criminal justice system undermining rule of law & international human rights standards.

"The counterterrorism law violates due process and fair trial rights by granting authorities wide powers to arrest and detain people without judicial oversight."

"In April, a Saudi court upheld death penalty sentences for 2 Saudi men for protest-related offenses allegedly committed as children, despite statements by Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission claiming no one in Saudi Arabia will be executed for a crime committed as a child.

"Yousif al-Manasif and Ali al-Mabyook, both from the eastern province where most of the country’s Shi’a minority live, were between the ages of 14 and 17 when they were arrested. At least five people sentenced to death as children remain in imminent danger of execution."

"Saudi Arabia does not have an anti-discrimination law. Saudi Arabia’s first codified law on personal status formally enshrines male guardianship over women and includes provisions that facilitate domestic violence and sexual abuse in marriage.

"The government did not consult Saudi women’s rights activists despite their campaigns for a Personal Status Law that would end discrimination against women. Instead, Saudi women’s rights activists have faced arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and travel bans.

"The Personal Status Law requires women to obtain the permission of their male guardian, typically their fathers or brothers, to marry and married women are required to obey their husbands in a 'reasonable manner.'

"If a woman refuses w/o a 'legitimate excuse' to have sex with her husband, move into the marital home he provides or stay overnight there, or travel w/him, she loses her right to spousal maintenance ...which includes food, housing, clothing, and other 'basic needs.'

"Men have a right to unilaterally divorce their wives, while women can only petition a court to dissolve their marriage contract on limited grounds and must 'establish harm' that makes the continuation of marriage 'impossible.'

"The law does not define 'harm' or what evidence can be submitted to support a case, leaving judges wide discretion to interpret the law and enforce it to maintain the status quo.

"The father remains the default guardians of his children, limiting the mother’s ability to participate fully in important decisions related to her child, even in cases where the parents do not live together and the court decides that the child should live with the mother.

"A mother can only act as guardian of her children if a court appoints her.

"Women in Saudi Arabia face restrictions preventing them from moving freely in their own country and abroad without the permission of their male guardian.

"Male guardians and other family members can report women to the police for being 'absent' from their homes, which can lead to their arrest and forcible return home or imprisonment. Women are not allowed to leave prison without a male guardian to accompany them upon release.

"Some universities require female students to show they have permission from their male guardian before they can go on field trips or stay at or leave campus.

"Saudi authorities allow male guardian to obtain court orders or simply notify the authorities to issue travel bans on women under their guardianship."

"The authorities continue to repress the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and have eliminated discussion of gender and sexuality from the public sphere online and offline."

A couple of years ago, an unemployed friend got an offer to do contract work for the Saudi Cup. Despite the financial hardship, she followed her conscience & declined the offer. Would that more people did the same.