Saudi Arabia

29 million people
17,820 USD GNI (PPP)
Internet:
Not Free
Press:
Not Free
Not Free

News & Updates

Freedom House is deeply concerned about the detention by Malaysian authorities of Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari, who fled Saudi Arabia to escape death threats for allegedly insulting the prophet Mohammad on Twitter. The 23-year-old Kashgari is at imminent risk of extradition to Saudi Arabia, where he faces charges of blasphemy that can carry the death penalty.

Regions: 

A Saudi woman found guilty of defying a driving ban in July 2011 will face a brutal punishment of 10 lashings. She did not want to be identified publicly to protect her safety and said will appeal the sentence, according to the Women2Drive campaign. A number of other women have been arrested for similar reasons, including Madihah Al-Agroosh on September 27, and Najla al-Hariri on September 25—the same day King Abdullah announced that women will be given voting rights. Hariri will face trial after being questioned for her role in instigating driving campaigns.

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah declared on September 25 that women will be allowed to vote and run in local elections as of 2015—though they will not be allowed to vote in next week’s municipal elections. Saudi Arabia has no elected parliament, and only began holding municipal elections in 2005. Only half the seats on the municipal council are currently determined by elections. On the same day that King Abdullah announced that women will be given voting rights, Najla al-Hariri, an advocate against Saudi Arabia’s driving ban, was questioned for continuing her campaign for women to drive.

According to Amnesty International, a leaked version of a new draft anti-terrorism law in Saudi Arabia would give wide-ranging powers to the Minister of the Interior, allowing him to subvert due process in the name of national security without judicial oversight, further endangering freedom of expression and association in that country. Under the draft Penal Law for Terrorism Crimes and Financing of Terrorism, criminal actions that can be labeled terrorist acts are defined in overly broad terms that could potentially be used to deter peaceful protest as well as restrict dissenting opinions and target political opposition. The legislation is currently has been reviewed by a government security committee and it is unknown if and when it might pass.

Signature Reports

Special Reports

Worst of the Worst 2011: The World's Most Repressive Societies

Freedom House has prepared this special report entitled Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies, as a companion to its annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World. The special report provides summary country reports, tables, and graphical information on the countries that receive the lowest combined ratings for political rights and civil liberties in Freedom in the World, and whose citizens endure systematic and pervasive human rights violations.

Worst of the Worst 2007

Sudan, North Korea and Uzbekistan are prominent among the most repressive regimes in the world, according to a report released by Freedom House.  The study, “The Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2007,” named seventeen countries with the worst records for political rights and civil liberties, and pointed to thirteen countries which have been on the list for five years or more.

Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance

Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom released a report analyzing a set of Saudi Ministry of Education textbooks in use during the current academic year in Islamic studies courses for elementary and secondary students. The textbooks promote an ideology of hatred toward people, including Muslims, who do not subscribe to the Wahhabi sect of Islam.

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