Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh, on April 27, 2021. (Credit: Bandar al-Jaloud/AFP)
In an interview broadcast Sunday on MBC on the second day of the month of Ramadan, the head of Saudi Arabia’s State Security, Abdelaziz al-Howairini, said that ‘opposition figures’ living abroad were invited to return home without fear of reprisals. Quoting Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), he said the offer applied to all those prosecuted for political opposition, excluding individuals involved in criminal cases.His remarks came as a surprise, though many Saudi dissidents and human rights defenders remain skeptical.“The periodic release of prisoners during Ramadan, presented as an act of mercy, is a calculated political maneuver,” said Wajih Assaad, a human rights activist and the first Saudi to publicly identify as LGBT, speaking from the United States. “It aims to manipulate public opinion and project an image...
In an interview broadcast Sunday on MBC on the second day of the month of Ramadan, the head of Saudi Arabia’s State Security, Abdelaziz al-Howairini, said that ‘opposition figures’ living abroad were invited to return home without fear of reprisals. Quoting Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), he said the offer applied to all those prosecuted for political opposition, excluding individuals involved in criminal cases.His remarks came as a surprise, though many Saudi dissidents and human rights defenders remain skeptical.“The periodic release of prisoners during Ramadan, presented as an act of mercy, is a calculated political maneuver,” said Wajih Assaad, a human rights activist and the first Saudi to publicly identify as LGBT, speaking from the United States. “It aims to manipulate public opinion and...
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