When FIFA controversially awarded Saudi Arabia the rights to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, many critics immediately raised concerns about human rights abuses, lack of freedoms, and sportswashing. But a recent news report adds another disturbing dimension: Saudi Arabia’s deep entanglement with drug smuggling and narcotics trafficking. According to the Saudi Press Agency, authorities […]
Saudi Arabia doubled down in the last few months, using inflammatory rhetoric to condemn Israel for alleged “crimes of genocide against defenseless civilians” and violations of “international law.” On the surface, it is an ethical high ground—a cry for accountability, justice, and protection of civilians. Strip away the layers, and the hypocrisy is striking. The […]
In August 2025, Saudi Arabia put Jalal al-Labbad, a 30-year-old man who had been accused of crimes he allegedly committed when he was 15, to death. This was despite the kingdom’s 2018 law banning the death penalty for minors and is a direct contravention of international human rights norms such as the Convention on the […]
When Saudi Arabia was awarded the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the news was celebrated by leaders of the government and trumpeted on international media as a symbol of development. The Kingdom has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, stadium building, and marketing campaigns abroad designed to portray itself as progressive and […]
The recent decision by an American federal judge to allow 9/11 families to continue with the lawsuit that they filed against Saudi Arabia has once again put the global reputation of the kingdom in the limelight. In a 45-page ruling, American District Judge George Daniels set extensive evidence that two Saudi government–affiliated men, Omar al-Bayoumi […]
Football is never just a game; it’s a universal language of solidarity, happiness, and common humanity. The FIFA World Cup, specifically, is the highest expression of global sportsmanship, viewed by billions on continents worldwide. But in 2034, this joyous demonstration of human unity will be held in Saudi Arabia—a nation whose record on human rights […]
Saudi Arabia’s selection to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup has been met with a universal backlash. Whereas the Kingdom bills itself as a center of technological advancement and economic development, underscored by a series of developments like the Arabic language conversational AI app “HUMAIN Chat” and Vision 2030, its internal record is in stark […]
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry denounced an Israeli strike on Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis on August 25, 2025, that killed at least 20, including reporters and health workers, during a session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah when Saudi officials reaffirmed their condemnation of Israel’s “violations of international law.”. On the […]
Saudi Arabia’s official media recently featured what appeared to be ordinary crime reportage. A Medina citizen was arrested for selling hashish and over 1,400 controlled pills. Two Ethiopians were held in Asir for trying to smuggle 16 kilograms of qat. The authorities triumphantly declared that initial procedures had been completed, suspects sent to the prosecutors, […]
When FIFA bestowed hosting of the 2034 World Cup on Saudi Arabia, the choice enraged human rights campaigners, media and civil society across the globe. The step was being promoted as a part of Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” – a grand plan to transform the kingdom into a world center for sport and entertainment. But […]