News / Interviews

Saudis emboldened by West’s inaction on citizens' persecution: Expert

Monday, 04 February 2019 3:27 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 04 February 2019 3:32 PM ]

Western countries are unlikely to put pressure on Saudi Arabia to stop its ill-treatment of detainees, says an expert, adding that the West’s inaction has emboldened Riyadh to continue its persecution of citizens.

“So far, the West has refrained from putting any pressure on Saudi Arabia. While it is very much concerned about the situation in Venezuela …, they don’t pay any attention to those countries like Saudi Arabia, like Bahrain where democracy does not exist and where the leaders are there for life … The West is keeping quiet about these hierarchies and these hereditary dictatorships and doing nothing. This is why these dictators are emboldened to continue their ill-treatment of citizens and the use of torture at extensive rate especially in Saudi Arabia and in Bahrain in particular,” Saeed Shahabi, a Middle East expert, told Press TV in an interview on Monday.

The comments came after three British lawmakers endorsed reports showing that over a dozen female activists detained since last May in Saudi Arabia have been subjected to “torture,” saying Riyadh could bear responsibility for the mistreatment.

“So I believe that unless the West comes out clean of this and calls for an immediate stop to this ill-treatment of the detainees and the release of women prisoners …, unless the West becomes a little bit more ethical and calls for the release of these women, their ill-treatment and torture will continue,” Shahabi added.

On Monday, Crispin Blunt, Layla Moran, and Paul Williams said they had found credible the reports by international rights groups and news media about the abuse.

They described the detainees' treatment as "cruel, inhuman, and degrading."

The MPs further said Saudi authorities had also violated international law through denying the activists visits by outsiders, including legal advisers.

Most of the detained activists had advocated for the Saudi women's right to drive and an end to the kingdom’s male guardianship system, which forbids women from taking key decisions, including those which have to do with marriage and travel, without the consent of a male next of kin.