Three men have been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over their alleged opposition to the country’s NEOM project, according to a report published last week by the human rights monitoring group ALQST.
The Saudi Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) handed down the sentences on October 2nd in the face of their continued social media criticism and organizing against the government's program of forced evictions that had been enacted in order to make room for the $500 billion megaproject.
The three men are members of the Huwaitat Tribe, a formerly nomadic group endemic to the northern Tabuk province, which has been the subject of bribes, violence, surveillance drones, and other forms of harassment since the first announcement of crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s "new way of living" in 2017. They are also known to be the relatives of Abdul Rahim Al-Huwaiti, a 43-year-old man who was killed by police in April of 2020 after posting a series of videos decrying the plight of displaced residents of the village of Al Khuraiba, whom he saw as the victims of "state terrorism."
"What these examples all demonstrate are the arbitrary and despotic methods by which the Saudi authorities pursue their plans, with no respect for people’s rights to decent housing, and without those who wish to raise complaints having any recourse to justice," a statement from ALQT reads. "Not only are the authorities persisting in this course, but they are now going even further by sentencing to death those who object to their unjust decisions or complain about the consequences."
The move comes as little shock to the international community in light of news that Saudi authorities have already executed twice as many of its own citizens by the end of summer as it did in all of 2021. Opposition to the proposed smart city development has already led to the long-term imprisonment of other inhabitants inside the 105- by 200-mile masterplanning area, while additional tribe members have reportedly been pressured into accepting one-off cash offers typically equaling about $3,000 USD per household. Officials are still expecting the first phase of the development to be complete by the end of 2025.
"It shows that Mohammed bin Salman sees the international situation and the need for energy as an appropriate environment to pass his unjust sentences at the lowest possible cost," Saudi rights activist Adel al-Saeed tweeted in a scathing assessment of the ruler's motives. "As long as our countries suffer under the weight of political and cultural tyranny, the culture of hypocrisy will continue to breathe and sweep the society because it is the only way to obtain security and status."
29 Comments
Thanks for posting this, Josh. With all that's going on in the world, I'm not sure this has received attention in the standard sources. There is a pattern.
They will continue to get away with this so long as the oil keeps pumping. Once that resource has dried up they are out on their own.
3 of many more to come.
any firm working on this “project” should be disqualified from any work in any other country than Saudi Arabia
Like a lot of starchitects who continue working of these fuckheads
I would go a step further and call for a complete and total boycott of all firms engaged in work in Saudi Arabia
right on que
"We will continue to become glorious"...lmfao
Dezeen comments are incredible
"Son of Baghdad • 2 days ago • edited
There's nothing wrong with what the Saudis are doing. After all they're good students to their masterful teachers, USA and UK, with what they did to many countries for their own benefit. At least the Saudis are doing it to lands they rule and the casualties are only a handful. It is also so ironic and offensive when the greedy and monstrous people of the west come preaching about protecting human life and so bravely cite their so-called human rights. You need to shut the fuck up and move on. Just enjoy whatever riches you reaped during your never-ending raids and keep watching the countries that you've wreaked havoc onto crumble to dust."
I fully acknowledge the US and UK history of colonialism, genocide, slavery, etc. I admit that I am privileged, and have benefitted from this reprehensible history. This makes it that much more imperative that I don't condone or support those who are currently engaged acts of repression, and yes that includes the US and other western countries. I would never accept work for the military, prisons, boarder walls, etc. The reality is the 1% in the US that actually "enjoy whatever riches you reaped during your never-ending raids" are the ones that are buddy buddy with MBS.
Saudi troll I’m guessing.
the not terrorist state https://www.vice.com/en/articl...
Who, exactly, is supposed to live in the line city and who is not?
When did the planners, architects, etc. first become aware of the displacement of native tribes and what was their reaction?
If they weren't aware, why not? Did they ask?
Construction, apparently, is underway. Photo from drone footage at dezeen:
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/10...
"If they weren't aware, why not? Did they ask?"
Do you really think the starchitects working on this have a soul to care about a few native tribesmen?
This grading photo is fascinating and makes it look very doable. It is mixed with medieval planning based on defense planning and sealable environments as a biosphere of the 20th century. Would people like this mega structure if it was designed with tomato gardens and American families picking up flowers, going to movies, and have small utopian farms the whole strech? The environment around the project site might as well a near death planet environmentally. A lot of people might have to live in this linear human colony after the climate change really kicks in.I see a lot of people calling the Saudis as violent backward lesser things. Are we that much better with our mass killings, shooting people dead because of their colors, gender etc..?Are we superior to everyone and everything all the time because we have quasi-democracy?
Orhan, with all our problems I think we (as in the Western World) are still better societally than the Saudis, at least when it comes to the built environment. Not every large project, for example needs to get the blessing of say, Joe Biden or be for his sole glorification in the US. (Trump would have loved it though)
I just don't see as natural to kill women for not wearing a scarf or driving, or journalists for exposing the leader's corruption. And I oppose what the western military -industrial complex does as well, it's not excluding.
I agree. The grading is like digging for Suez Canal or a hi-way dig, etc. I would like to see what unplanned direction it will take when they run out of resources or when finances are directed elsewhere. Maybe it will be even better when it fails.
Saudi Arabia will be obsolete once we start producing 100% domestic oil, then their silly dystopian city will look like a broke ass Vegas motel.
All you need to know about the firms involved in this project is right here. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xUsOJrw5PJE
Pretty much every starchitect office in the planet is getting contracts on this and other Saudi megaprojects, with those specializing in swoopy geometries and shiny surfaces preferred. Then there are the engineering and contracting giants that have been a staple in the region.
It's difficult to separate the Saudi government from its peoples. Should the country be denied the know-how and expertise of global experts and be condemned to a state of lesser development as a punishment for its government's actions? That is the logic of sanctions - punishing the people as collateral - and it does have a place in the international order.
Does it fit in this case? Evidently, the powers that be do not think so, for Saudi Arabia remains a unique heavyweight courtesy of its influence on energy prices.
I'm morbidly curious what Thom Mayne makes of all this. He seemed like a renegade in his younger days. At the same time, he's always been big on massive urban forms and the impact they have on the landscape. His firm is a favorite of the Saudi leadership, it seems.
Not just the ones with swoopy forms - even the "respected" ones like Holl, Adjaye and shitheads like Wiscombe have all worked/are working for NEOM.
People everywhere are generally cool. It's the government that are the problem. I dont care for sanctions that hurt the people of any nation. That said, the only reason we have the ability to leverage sanctions is because of the outsourcing that we do. To appear woke, or to get cheaper shit, americans are willing to offshore all the dirty things like oil drilling and manufacturing - resulting in more feel good but less sustainable. If we had a policy where america and other western states strived to be completely self sufficient in terms of energy and necessities, these problem states like SA would not be so rich and powerful.
I suppose that blasé starchitects might claim they only took the job because it was never going to get built so why not take the bags of money to “push boundaries, blah, blah, blah”….If Thom likes linear wall-cities so much, why not propose one separating California from Mexico? You could even make the south facing side jail cells, or is that too on the nose?
Well, that’s the double standard of these “elite progressive” types. They believe that would be a mortal sin in the holy land of Californian, where the enlightened white yuppies dwell, but since the saudis are a half shade darker than the average Italian (I believe the Italians are the cut off since Giuliani came on the scene), their “culture” is outside of what they are allowed to judge. Cultural relativism kicks in once your forearm is darker than Pauly walnuts. Lived experience and all that wobbly logic.
I wanted to get up to speed on the The Line and this is a good start, by architect Dami Lee. She outlines the project and highlights politely many serious issues.
All moral objections aside, this project will not work. The only things that make it exceptional are its boldness, its ability to attract attention, and all the problems it causes for itself, unnecessarily.
There's a nice irony in all of this. The only way this environmentally friendly project can even get a start is with a massive infusion of petro cash. (I'm not saying the US has been any more sensible or responsible with its resources.)
is this a part of the conversation?
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