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Seven reasons why Saudi Arabia shouldn't be our friend – and one why it is

David Cameron and Prince Charles in Saudi ArabiaGETTY

David Cameron and Prince Charles are regular visitors to Saudi Arabia

But while Britain imposes tough sanctions on countries like Russia for their war with Ukraine, the Government often falls silent amid claims of human rights abuses and war crimes by Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi royal family regularly face accusations of overseeing a brutal regime where political opponents are executed, all criticism is censored and women are second-class citizens.

The kingdom has also faced claims it is the breeding ground of Islamist terror groups across the world.

Here are seven reasons why Britain shouldn’t be friends with Saudi – and one multi-billion pound reason why it is…

PUNISHMENT

Earlier this year website Middle East Eye published a comparison of punishments within the brutal so-called Islamic State with those dished out by Saudi Arabia.

Spot the difference…

DEATH PENALTY

A recent report by human rights charity Reprieve found 171 people are currently facing execution in Saudi Arabia.

Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of these were sentenced to death for non-violent offences, including the attendance of political protests.

Those found protesting against the kingdom’s rulers are convicted of ‘corrupting the Earth’ – a charge which carries the death penalty.

Among those facing death are prisoners who were handed the death penalty while children.

Earlier this year the death sentence for Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher was upheld, after he was arrested for taking part in protests at the age of just 15.

Reprieve found the use of torture to extract ‘confessions’ is widespread, with some prisoners suffering broken bones and teeth during beatings.

Execution methods include beheading, stoning and beheading combined with crucifixion.

Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at Reprieve, said: “In 2015 Saudi Arabia executed and handed down death sentences at its highest rate for years. 

“Most of those sent to face the swordsman’s blade were convicted of non-violent offences, such as protesting against the kingdom’s oppressive government. 

“Among them are at least three people who were sentenced to death as children.”

The charity has called on the Government to “come clean” over the Home Office’s links with Saudi’s oppressive interior ministry.

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Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher was arrested at age 15 – he could now be executed at any time

CENSORSHIP

Saudi blogger and activist Raif Badawi was last year sentenced to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes plus a fine for insulting Islam and several charges of apostasy.

He received the first 50 lashes before a crowd of hundreds in January 2015 but the rest of his brutal punishment has been postponed amid international fury and concerns for his health.

Badawi’s ‘crime’ was to set up an online forum for public debate.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights branded the public flooding a “cruel and inhuman punishment… prohibited under international human rights law”.

Amnesty International has accused Saudi’s hardline rulers of systematically wiping out almost all human rights activism in the country over the past few years, much of it under the disguise of ‘counter-terror’ laws.

Peaceful activists from one leading group are are said to have been rounded up, beaten and given long prison sentences in an effort to “wipe out all trace” of the organisation.

It follows fears among the Saudi royal family that the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings could inspire a similar revolt against themselves.

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The fate of Raif Badawi sparked outrage across the world

TREATMENT OF WOMEN

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women from driving.

The kingdom’s laws mean women must have a male guardian whenever they leave the house and must seek their permission to get married, travel, undergo some types of surgery, accept a job or enter higher education.

GETTY

Saudi women are banned from driving

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What more will it take before our Government finally says enough is enough?

Andrew Smith from Campaign Against Arms Trade

WAR CRIMES

Since civil war broke out in Yemen this year, a Saudi-led coalition has carried out airstrikes against Houthi rebels who overthrew the country’s government.

Riyadh has frequently been accused of war crimes with hospitals, schools, markets, aid warehouses, charity offices and refugee camps all said to have been targeted by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes.

By September more than 2,200 civilian deaths had been registered.

One report by Amnesty International documented the use of internationally-banned cluster bombs while the body of a one-year-old baby was found in wreckage with his dummy still in his mouth. 

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is currently considering legal action against the Government unless it stops allowing British-produced arms being sent to Saudi amid concerns of war crimes in Yemen.

GETTY

A Yemeni man carries an injured child after a Saudi-led coalition airstrike

DOES IT INSPIRE ISLAMIC EXTREMISM?

Since the 9/11 terror attacks in New York in 2001 – when 15 of the 19 al-Qaeda hijackers were found to be Saudi nationals – the kingdom has faced regular claims it is helping to breed Islamic extremism and terror groups across the world.

The fanatical ‘Wahhabi’ strain of Islam, which is centred in Saudi Arabia, is now said to be closest ideology to that of ISIS – with some claiming the views espoused by Saudi’s Wahhabist clerics inspired the growth of the terror group.

Saudi has also faced accusations it has tried to export puritanical Wahhabism abroad over the last three decades, at a cost of £67billion ($100bn).

The cash is spent on building mosques or establishing madrassas – religious schools – in other Muslim nations such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and parts of Africa.

AP

Saudi Arabia’s hardline clerics are claimed to have inspired ISIS

IS IT FUNDING ISIS?

Saudi Arabia has strongly denied it has provided funding to ISIS, with officials pointing to new laws it has brought in to prevent money from the kingdom going to jihadist groups.

But their denials still haven’t stopped accusations from some British politicians of a link between the financing of ISIS and Saudi Arabia.

Last month former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown claimed ISIS was continuing to be funded by wealthy individuals from both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

He said: “I don’t say the governments have been doing it, but their rich businessmen certainly have.”

Saudi money and weapons for anti-regime forces have poured into Syria soon after the country plunged into civil war.

The kingdom’s wealthy Sunni Muslims saw an opportunity to end Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s rule – a key ally of fellow Shia Muslim-ruled state Iran.

But as ISIS captured vast swathes of Syria and Iraq, there is little doubt these weapons and cash may have ended up in hands of the brutal terror group.

GETTY

Did Saudi cash help bankroll ISIS?

AND THIS IS WHY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IS FRIENDS WITH SAUDI ARABIA…

ARMS SALES

Between May 2010 and March 2015 the Coalition government licensed almost £4billion of arms to Saudi Arabia, according to the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

These included fighter jets, tear gas and military vehicles.

Earlier this year the Tory Government invited the kingdom’s military chiefs to world’s leading arms fair, hosted in London.

Many British defence firms make huge profits from Saudi weapons deals, including BAE systems who secured a multi-billion pound contract to supply Euro fighters to the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has twice as many British-made warplane as the entire RAF, while Government figures show two-thirds of British-made arms go to the Middle East with Saudi by far the biggest buyer.

Commenting on British licensing of arms sales to Saudi, CAAT’s Andrew Smith said: “The message it sends to Saudi people is their human rights are a lesser priority than the profits of BAE systems.

“Not only does Saudi lock up bloggers and behead opponents, it has also used UK arms to create a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.

“What more will it take before our Government finally says enough is enough?”

GETTY

BAE systems secured a multi-billion pound contract to supply Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia

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