Amnesty International announced on Monday that it had managed to collect 100,000 signatures on a human rights petition criticizing Saudi Arabia.
The organization said in statement It posted on its website that “the campaign to collect signatures for the (Unlock Travel Restrictions) petition saw nearly 100,000 people from all over the world call on the Saudi authorities to lift all travel restrictions imposed on human rights defenders and activists due to their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression.”
“The Saudi authorities have consistently imposed arbitrary travel bans as part of prison sentences for those who dare express any form of peaceful dissent, criticize the government or support human rights,” said Diana Samaan, acting deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa regional office.
“The illegal travel ban seriously undermines activists’ access to health care and professional or educational opportunities abroad, and causes emotional and psychological distress to its targets, with many separated from their families for many years,” Samaan added.
But now, with nearly 100,000 people from around the world calling on the Saudi authorities to lift travel restrictions, it is time for the unbridled crackdown on critics to be replaced with genuine respect for human rights.
Amnesty International launched the “Unlock Travel” campaign in May 2022. Since then, the organization has mobilized activists from all over the world to take action. Some 100,000 voices from around the world called on the Saudi authorities to lift the travel ban imposed on activists and human rights defenders.
Travel ban decisions are official procedures whereby a citizen or group of citizens is prevented from entering or leaving the country. It should be used only as necessary, and consistent with other human rights. Unofficial travel bans also fail to meet the requirement that the law establishes, according to the organization.
Amnesty International has documented the cases of 40 human rights defenders and peaceful activists who were sentenced following trials that the organization described as “extremely unfair” with travel bans ranging between five and 35 years, as well as 39 cases of unofficial travel bans affecting activists’ relatives. These, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Raif Badawi.
Saudi exile
AndSaudi officials say There are no political prisoners in the kingdom, and they deny the existence of human rights violations and say that they are only fighting extremism and corruption and working to protect the kingdom’s national security. They advocate monitoring activists as necessary to maintain social stability, according to Archyde.com.