Saudi Arabia Sentences Tribesmen to Death for Resisting Eviction

TEHRAN (FNA)- A Saudi court sentenced three members of the Howeitat, a tribe forcibly ejected to make way for the $500-billion Neom project, to death for resisting displacement.

TEHRAN (FNA)- A Saudi court sentenced three members of the Howeitat, a tribe forcibly ejected to make way for the $500-billion Neom project, to death for resisting displacement.

Shadli, Atallah, and Ibrahim Al-Howeiti were arrested in 2020 for opposing the eviction of their tribe for the project and were handed down death sentences on October 2 by Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), according to UK-based rights group Alqst, presstv reported.

“On October 2, the SCC sentenced Shadli (brother of Abdul Rahim Al-Howeiti), Ataullah & Ibrahim Saleh Al-Howeiti to death. The family members were detained in 2020 for opposing eviction to make way for Neom.  We condemn the sentences and call for their release,” Alqst said in a tweet.

In April 2020, Shadli’s brother, Abdul Rahim Al-Howeiti, a 43-year-old Tabuk resident was shot dead by Saudi special forces after protesting the government’s eviction orders.

In August,  Abdulilah Al-Howeiti and Abdullah Dukhail Al-Howeiti, two other members of the family, were given 50-year prison terms and 50-year travel bans for supporting their family’s refusal to be evicted from their homes in the Tabuk province.

Salma Al-Shehab, a Leeds University student and mother of two, and Nourah bint Saeed Al-Qahtani, a mother of five, were given lengthy sentences of 34 years and 45 years respectively over tweets critical of the Saudi government.

According to the rights organization, also Osama Khaled, a writer, translator, and computer programmer, was sentenced to 32 years over “allegations relating to the right of free speech”.

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