Saudi Arabia halts deals after Canada criticises activist’s arrest
Washington — Saudi Arabia halted new trade and investment dealings with Canada and suspended diplomatic ties in a dramatic escalation of a dispute over the kingdom’s arrest of a women’s rights activist. The kingdom recalled its ambassador to Ottawa and ordered the Canadian envoy to Riyadh to leave within 24 hours, according to a foreign ministry statement cited by the Saudi Press Agency. Canada is "seeking greater clarity" about the matter, a spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said. The Saudi foreign ministry cited remarks last week by Freeland and the Canadian embassy in Riyadh, criticising Saudi Arabia’s arrests of women’s rights activists including Samar Badawi. She is a Canadian citizen whose brother Raif Badawi, a blogger who was critical of the Saudi government, was already in jail in the kingdom. "The kingdom views the Canadian position as an affront to the kingdom that requires a sharp response to prevent any party from attempting to meddle with Saudi soverei...
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