SHAFAQNA- Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday urged G20 leaders to pressure Saudi Arabia to release detained activists. The G20 presidency conferred an “undeserved mark of international prestige” on the government of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite its “unrelenting assault on freedoms, HRW said in a statement.
“The G20 is bolstering the Saudi government’s well-funded publicity efforts to portray the country as ‘reforming’ despite a significant increase in repression since 2017,” said Michael Page, HRW Deputy Middle East Director.
Launching the #G20SaudiArabia campaign, HRW called for the unconditional release of Saudi human rights activists, including female activists Loujain Al-Hathloul, Nassima Al-Sadah and Nouf Abdulaziz as well as blogger Raif Badawi, journalist Salah Haidar and rights lawyer Walid Abu Al-Khair, Reuters reported.