Saudi Arabia abusing broad anti-terrorism law to crush dissent and silence women
Geneva — Saudi Arabia is misusing its broad anti-terrorism law to silence peaceful dissent and deny freedom of expression, imprisoning critics and allegedly subjecting some of them to torture, according to a UN report. The report by Ben Emmerson, who visited the kingdom last year as UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism, said the definition of terrorism in laws enacted in 2014 was "objectionably broad". He called on Saudi authorities to bring the law in line with international norms, to halt "barbaric and public" executions, and to investigate allegations of the torture of detainees. There was no immediate response from Saudi officials to the report, issued on Emmerson’s Twitter account on Wednesday, which covered his visit in April-May 2017. A spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Council said Emmerson submitted it to the UN after his six-year term as rapporteur ended later that year. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to diversify Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy...
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