World leaders in Saudi capital for Abdullah's memorial

Heads of state and top diplomats from across the globe have converged on Saudi Arabia to offer condolences on the death of King Abdullah.

Among top Western officials already in the Saudi capital Riyadh or due to arrive soon are French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama, leading their respective delegations for talks with the Persian Gulf kingdom’s new ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud​ and his newly-picked officials.

Iran is represented by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Salman, who has vowed continuity in the nation’s foreign and energy policies, moved quickly to appoint his own heirs and ministers, including one prince reportedly from the ruling dynasty’s third generation.

This is while dignitaries from over 10 countries have already met with the oil-rich kingdom’s new ruler, including rulers from neighboring Persian Gulf states, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who attended King Abdullah’s funeral on the day of his death on Friday.

Among European royals paying their respect to the despotic former Saudi king are Britain’s Prince Charles, King Felipe VI of Spain and Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik.

Meanwhile, Obama, who is due to arrive in Riyadh on Tuesday, has already called King Salman to "personally express his sympathies" for King Abdullah’s demise, according to the White House.

In his remarks, Obama further described the former Saudi despot as a leader who "was always candid and had the courage of his convictions."

Moreover, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also praised what he referred to as Abdullah's efforts "to promote dialogue among the world's faiths," without elaborating.

Criticism of Abdullah's human rights record

Human rights groups, however, insist that Saudi Arabia's human rights record under the late Saudi ruler had been dismal, urging newly empowered King Salman to do more in terms of protecting freedom of speech and women's rights.

The spokesman for the UK-based rights group Amnesty International, Neil Durkin, described Abdullah's human rights legacy as "disastrous", emphasizing that "endemic torture in police cells and in prisons" remained.

During the reign of Abdullah, who took over the throne in 2005, Saudi Arabia has been widely reported to be the key sponsor of a number of al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organizations across the Middle East including the notorious Takfiri ISIL terror group which has claimed responsibility for numerous massacres and beheading of civilians and journalists as well as military cadets across Syria and Iraq.

The former king died Friday at the age of 90 after weeks of being hospitalized with a lung infection. He had suffered frequent periods of ill health in recent years.

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