Saudi Arabia angered by Jeremy Corbyn
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom has accused Britain’s opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn of “breaching respect” by working to block a multi-million-dollar deal between the two sides.
Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Saudi ambassador to London, slammed the British MP and Labour Party leader on Sunday over the cancelation of a contract to advise Riyadh on prison reforms in the kingdom.
“One example of mutual respect being breached recently took place when opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed that he had convinced Prime Minister David Cameron to cancel a prison consultancy contract with Saudi Arabia worth £5.9 million ($9.03 million),” the Saudi ambassador said.
The Saudi official further voiced anger over the contract cancelation’s link to a number of “domestic events in the kingdom.”
He warned that trade ties between the two countries could be at risk if such actions were repeated.
In a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron last month, Corbyn asked the premier to consider terminating a bid by the country’s Ministry of Justice to provide services to the Saudi prison system, which aims to carry out the execution of 20-year-old Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, for taking part in protests in 2012.
Three weeks later, British Justice Secretary Michael Gove announced the cancelation of the agreement.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also said he expected Riyadh to not carry out the execution of the youth, who is the nephew of prominent Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, also facing execution over political dissent.
This comes as Riyadh has been under increasing pressure from rights group such as Amnesty International (AI) over its human rights record and executions.
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