Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
News

Three Saudi men sentenced to death for resisting displacement for NEOM megacity

11 October 2022

Three men, Shadli, Atallah and Ibrahim Al-Huwaiti, have been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for refusing to evict their homes in the Tabuk region. It was announced on Monday (10 October).

Two others face 50 years in prison, followed by a 50-year travel ban for supporting their family's resistance, and the remaining three arrested also face lengthy prison sentences. UK-based human rights group, Al Qst, condemned the death sentences and called for the release of the three men. These eight tribe members were arrested in 2020 for resisting displacement orders for the NEOM project, after the death of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti.

The Kingdom is forcibly evicting people for the NEOM megacity - the $500 bn new city-state conceptualised by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The city will be located in the far north of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastline, and will be about as big as Belgium. It will allegedly include cutting edge technology such as a giant artificial moon, flying drone-powered taxis, and robotic butlers to clean residents' homes. The intention is to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from oil. The area will also host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

To achieve a city of this size, people are being forcefully displaced from their homes. With 20,000 members of the Al-Huwaiti tribe facing displacement from their homes on ancestral land, Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti became the face of the resistance. He voiced complaints in videos posted to social media. In one such video, he alleged that the security forces were arresting anyone who resisted deportation. Abdul was shot and killed by the Saudi Special Forces in April 2020. Saudi authorities maintain that he had been killed in a shootout, though activist Alia al-Huwaiti insisted that the regime was setting an example for anyone who dared to speak out against them through Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti’s death. 

Following the eviction, and alleged oppression by the Saudi authorities, the tribe appealed to the United Nations for help against the displacement. They have also called for international organisations to investigate the special forces' human rights violations. The Saudi use of the the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC), which was created to try terrorist suspects, for the trial of these men was met with opprobrium. These actions have only heightened the tensions between the House of Saud and the tribes they have ruled over since 1932.

source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: Amnesty International

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Israel recognises Somaliland, opening a pandora's box in Africa
Trending

Israel recognises Somaliland, opening a pandora's box in Africa

27 December 2025
Israel ‍has recognized Somaliland as an "independent and sovereign state," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday. "Together with Foreign Minister Sa'ar and the President of the Republic of Somaliland, we signed a joint and mutual declaration," Netanyahu posted to X. "This declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords signed at the initiative of President Trump," he said. In doing so, Israel became the first country to recognize the breakaway region. Somalia's Foreign Ministry denounced Israel's "deliberate attack" on its sovereignty and warned that recognizing Somaliland as an independent state would "undermine regional peace." "Illegitimate actions of this nature seriously undermine regional peace and stability, exacerbate political and security tensions," the ministry said in a statement. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he held phone calls with his counterparts from Somalia, Turkey and Djibouti to discuss what they described as dangerous developments in the Horn of Africa, following Israel's announcement The ministers condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, reaffirmed their full support for Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity, and warned that recognizing breakaway regions poses a threat to international peace and security, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said. "This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy and its efforts to do everything to prevent the recognition of a Palestinian state, constitutes overt interference in Somalia's domestic affairs," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.  The African Union (AU) joined the condemnations of Israel's recognition of Somaliland.  "Any attempt to undermine the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Somalia... risks setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent," an AU statement read. Israel said that it has now established diplomatic relations with Somaliland, and the two will soon set up embassies. commonspace.eu political editor said in a comment that by recognising Somaliland Israel has opened Africa's pandora's box. "The borders of most African countries were drawn in colonial times, and in the post-colonial period of the last seventy years, these borders have been considered sacrosanct. The two exceptions are also to be found in the Horn of Africa, where Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia and South Sudan broke away from Sudan." (click the image to read the full article).

Popular