May, 15 2019, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
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Saudi Arabia's 'Year of Shame': Crackdown on Critics and Rights' Activists Continues
WASHINGTON
Today marks the first anniversary of the arrests of several prominent women human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, after a shameful year for human rights in the Kingdom in which activists, journalists, academics, and writers were targeted, Amnesty International said today.
Today marks a year of shame for Saudi Arabia. A year ago, the authorities started locking up some of Saudi Arabia's bravest women activists, instead of celebrating hand in hand steps that should have served to advance the rights of women in the country- Lynn Maalouf
In the past year, Saudi Arabian activists, including several women human rights defenders, have suffered the terrible ordeal of arbitrary detention, unable to speak to or see their loved ones for long months and with no access to legal representation. Women activists also detailed accounts of their torture, ill-treatment and sexual abuse to the court, and many of them now face a prison term for their peaceful activism and speech.
"Today marks a year of shame for Saudi Arabia. A year ago, the authorities started locking up some of Saudi Arabia's bravest women activists, instead of celebrating hand in hand steps that should have served to advance the rights of women in the country," said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Middle East Research Director.
"Then they went on to detain those who still dared to stand up for these women, advocate for women's rights in the country, or even express any questioning of the authorities' policies."
Loujain al-Hathloul, Iman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Yousef, Saudi Arabia's leading women's rights campaigners, were detained on 15 May 2018 and have been facing trial for their human rights work since March 2019.
This is also a shameful day for Saudi Arabia's closest allies in the West, namely the USA, the UK and France. Instead of prioritising business deals and arms sales, they should be intransigent - and publicly so - in pressuring the Saudi Arabian authorities for the immediate and unconditional release of all individuals who are being punished for expressing their views peacefully. -Lynn Maalouf
While Iman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Yousef were amongst seven women provisionally released in the past two months, Loujain al-Hathloul and several other women activists remain in prison. Women human rights defenders, Nassima al-Sada and Samar Badawi, have been detained since July 2018 without charge with tens of other fellow activists. In April 2019, the authorities escalated their crackdown on critics, arbitrarily detaining at least 14 journalists, writers, academics and family members of women's rights defenders.
In November 2018, Amnesty International revealed reports of torture, ill-treatment and sexual abuse of at least 10 activists arbitrarily detained since May 2018, which included several women human rights defenders. The organization called on the authorities to allow independent monitors access to detained activists.
"This is also a shameful day for Saudi Arabia's closest allies in the West, namely the USA, the UK and France. Instead of prioritising business deals and arms sales, they should be intransigent - and publicly so - in pressuring the Saudi Arabian authorities for the immediate and unconditional release of all individuals who are being punished for expressing their views peacefully," said Lynn Maalouf.
A few months following the wave of arrests targeting women's rights activists, the Saudi Arabian authorities escalated their crackdown on dissent, as manifested in the Public Prosecution's calls for the execution of religious clerics and Shi'a activists on trial before the counter-terror court for charges related to exercising their peaceful rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. This includes prominent religious cleric Sheikh Salman al-Awda, who was accused of 37 charges, including his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood and calls for government reforms.
In late April 2019, the authorities also carried out a mass execution of 37 men, the majority of them from Saudi Arabia's Shi'a minority and executed after unfair trials. At least 15 men executed last month were sentenced to death based on "confessions" they said were extracted through torture, including a young man who was convicted of a crime that allegedly took place while he was under the age of 18.
In 2019 alone, the Saudi authorities have executed at least 110 people.
Background:
On Wednesday 15 May, Amnesty International UK and the Saudi Arabia-focused campaign organization ALQST are hosting an event to mark one year since the group of women's rights activists were arrested. For more details, please contact: www.amnesty.org.uk/amnesty-media-team
On the first anniversary of the arrests, Amnesty International repeats its call on supporters worldwide to continue taking action for the detained activists until they are unconditionally free.
Over the past year, over 280,000 people have stood in solidarity with Saudi Arabia's women human rights defenders and activists through signing petitions and writing to the Saudi Arabian authorities demanding their release
Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Our supporters are outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world - so we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity. We have more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions and we coordinate this support to act for justice on a wide range of issues.
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Holiday Season Ultimatum From Amazon Workers: Bargain or We Strike!
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The unions representing Amazon workers at two New York City facilities—the JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island and the DBK4 delivery center in Queens—cited the company's "illegal refusal to recognize their union and negotiate a contract" to address low wages and dangerous working conditions as the reason for the strike authorization.
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Rank-and-file members said their demands are reasonable, especially as the company—owned by the world's second-richest man, Jeff Bezos—continues to rake in massive profits year after year as one of the world's largest companies.
"We aren't asking for much," said James Saccardo, a worker at JFK8. "We just want what everyone else in America wants—to do our jobs and get paid enough to take care of ourselves and our families. And Amazon isn't letting us do that."
In Queens, where Amazon workers at DBK4—the corporation's largest delivery station in the city—voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike of their own.
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BREAKING: Amazon workers in NYC are going on strike right before Christmas — the company's busiest time.
The first unionized Amazon warehouse is going to shut down in a historic walkout.
Workers plan to hit the company where it hurts to win their first union contract. pic.twitter.com/CwnrRWg4be
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A strike at this time of year, the busiest for the retail giant, reports labor correspondent Jessica Burbank for Drop Site News, "would hit them where it hurts. The scale of the strike would be unprecedented, including the major hubs of New York and San Bernadino, California."
According to Burbank:
Amazon now has a workforce of over 700,000, making it the largest employer of warehouse workers in the nation. If a contract is won at these initial 20 bargaining units, it has the potential to impact working conditions for thousands of workers, and inspire union organizing efforts at Amazon facilities across the country.
For Amazon workers who voted to unionize their warehouses in March of 2022, this has been a long time coming. “Thousands of Amazon workers courageously cast their ballots to form a union at JFK8 in Staten Island,” Smalls said in a text. “We shocked the world, we had won against a corporate giant and hoped that step would propel us forward to help create a better workplace.” For years, Amazon stalled on recognizing the union, and has not yet met union representatives at the negotiating table.
Smalls said, “I’m excited to see workers take control, take the next step and move even further down the path to victory when they exercise their right to strike.” He continued, “We celebrated as we inspired thousands of others to hope for the same.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Saturday issued his support for the union workers.
"Amazon delivery drivers and warehouse workers deserve decent wages, benefits and working conditions—and the right to form a union," said Sanders. "I strongly support the thousands of Amazon workers who will go on strike tomorrow if Amazon doesn't end its illegal union busting."
The workers at JFK8 said people could support the union's effort in various ways "at this critical time," including:
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- Show Up on the Picket Line: Join workers at JFK8 to demonstrate solidarity and hold Amazon accountable for their illegal refusal to negotiate a union contract.
- Spread the Word: Use social media and local networks to raise awareness about the workers’ struggle and the importance of their fight for justice at Amazon.
- Contact Elected Officials: Urge representatives to publicly support JFK8 workers and pressure Amazon to negotiate in good faith.
- Sign the Petition: Stand with Amazon workers and demand that Amazon guarantee a safe return to work, free of harassment and retaliatory disciplinary action, to all workers participating in protected collective action.
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