Britain, support our human rights abuses, Saudi prince says

This 2 March 2011 video is called Torture in Saudi Arabia. It is about violence against anti-dictatorship demonstrators in a prison.

By Lamiat Sabin in Britain:

Saudi regime ‘wants Britain’s support for human rights abuse’

Tuesday 27th October 2015

SAUDI ARABIA believes Britain should “keep its mouth shut” over its horrific human rights abuses, a human rights organisation said yesterday after Riyadh’s ambassador warned of a breakdown in relations.

Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz said “potentially serious repercussions” were on the horizon due to a lack of “mutual respect.”

He singled out Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for having shamed Tory PM David Cameron into cancelling a £5.9 million prison training contract with the Middle Eastern country.

Mr Abdulaziz complained that the deal cancellation was the reason for an “alarming change in the way Saudi Arabia is discussed in Britain” — rather than the oil-rich nation’s practice of subjecting alleged criminals to torture, unjust detention and execution.

He dismissed the direct link between human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia and the cancellation of the prison training deal as mere “speculation.”

Mr Abdulaziz, who made the comments in an article for the Daily Telegraph, wrote that his country would “not be lectured to” by Mr Corbyn and that “political ideologies” must not get in the way of “vital commercial exchanges.”

Britain has authorised arms export licences worth around £5.5 billion for Saudi Arabia over the past five years and most of the weaponry is now being used to bomb Yemen.

The ambassador added: “We want this relationship to continue, but we will not be lectured to by anyone. Hasty decisions prompted by short-term gains often do more harm than good in the longer term.”

Human rights organisation Reprieve, which campaigns on behalf of prisoners being tortured or threatened with execution, criticised the prince for his shameless demand for unwavering approval.

Caseworker Kate Higham said: “The Saudi government’s misconceived view seems to be that not only must Britain keep its mouth shut about their horrific abuses, we should also be actively supporting them.”

She added: “They need to realise that until they put a stop to the horrific abuses in the kingdom, no country with any respect for human rights will want to go near their ‘justice’ system.”

Labour MP Ian Lavery told the Star that whether Mr Corbyn or Justice Secretary Michael Gove deserved the credit for getting the Prime Minister to axe the prison contract, “the important thing it that it was the right decision.”

The Wansbeck MP added: “We’ve got to stand up to those across the globe guilty of horrific human rights abuses. I’m proud that we have done.”

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