Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has maintained his tyrannical model of oppression, murder, forced relocation, and arrest of Al-Huwaitat tribe members in order to seize control of the city of NEOM. He has also not backed down, even though he is the owner of the lands, from exacting revenge on the tribe members for their refusal to give up their land, their lives, and their memories.
A large group of UN-appointed independent human rights experts expressed concern over the possibly imminent execution of three members of the Huwaitat tribe in Saudi Arabia, urging authorities to stop the process.
The UN experts stated that the group faces execution, despite Saudi Arabia’s accusations of terrorism. In reality, however, the Saudi authorities detained them and other Al-Huwaitat tribe members due to their unwillingness to cede their lands to the Saudi government and their forced eviction from their homes so that the Saudi Crown Prince could construct NEOM City.
It is important to remember that NEOM City, which is being developed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is a smart, urban, and future development project, according to the Saudi Crown Prince. Economists deemed the project a failure, and jurists referred to it as a project based on blood, from which no good could be hoped for for the nation. Originally, it relied on technology and robotics in the service of humans. However, since Bin Salman seized the land and poured hundreds of millions of dollars into it, it has not ended one stage or launched one project.
Al-Huwaitat members
Following a dispute with the Al-Huwaitat tribe regarding forced relocation and land transfers, the Saudi authorities detained a significant number of tribe members. The court, deemed politically biased, sentenced Ali Shadli Ahmed Mahmoud Abu Taqa Al-Huwaiti, Mr. Ibrahim Saleh Ahmed Abu Khalil Al-Huwaiti, and Mr. Atallah Musa Muhammad Al-Huwaiti to death on August 5, 2023. The Specialized Criminal Court in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia upheld the defendants’ sentences on January 23, 2024.
The UN expert’s statement
Shadly Ahmad Mahmoud Abou Taqiqa al-Huwaiti, Mr Ibrahim Salih Ahmad Abou Khalil al-Huwaiti and Mr Atallah Moussa Mohammed al-Huwaiti were sentenced to death on 5 August last year, and their sentences were backed by Saudi Arabia’s Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal, on 23 January.
Three other members of the Huwaitat tribe were sentenced to “severe prison terms” said a press release issued on behalf of the experts: Abdelnasser Ahmad Mahmoud Abou Taqiqa al-Huwaiti received a 27 year sentence; Mahmoud Ahmad Mahmoud Abou Taqiqa al-Huwaiti, 35 years; and Abdullah Dakhilallah al-Huwaiti was sentenced to 50 years in jail.
“Under international law, States that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for the ‘most serious crimes’, involving intentional killing,” the experts said. “We do not believe the actions in question meet this threshold.”
“All six individuals have been charged under the overly vague 2017 Saudi law on combating crimes of terrorism and its financing,” the experts said, warning that this law does not appear to be in line with international law, as raised several times by Special Procedures.
They expressed serious concern that some of the detainees had allegedly been subjected to torture and ill-treatment to extract confessions of guilt, and that due process safeguards had not been followed to ensure their right to a fair trial.
“We urge all companies involved, including foreign investors, to ensure that they are not causing or contributing to, and are not directly linked to serious human rights abuses,” the human rights experts said.
The experts reminded Saudi Arabia of its obligations under the UN Convention against Torture. They urged the authorities to recognise core international human rights instruments, including the two International Covenants, as soon as possible, to establish an official moratorium on all executions with a view to the complete abolition of the death penalty, and to allow external scrutiny, including by accepting pending country visit requests from the Council-mandated Special Procedures section.
