Amnesty accuses Saudi Arabia of ‘gross’ abuses
The human rights group Amnesty International accused Saudi Arabia on Wednesday of using its campaign against terrorism as a facade for “a sustained assault on human rights” and said the rest of the world had failed to hold the authorities to account for “gross violations.”
Its report said thousands of people had been arrested and detained in virtual secrecy “while others have been killed in uncertain circumstances.” It accused the Saudi authorities of using torture to extract confessions and of using their “powerful international clout to get away with it.”
Rich in oil, Saudi Arabia is an important Western ally, both as a bulwark against Iran and as a wealthy and influential player in the Middle East crisis. But it has been under Western pressure to combat terrorism since 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were found to be Saudi citizens. [continued…]
