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Abdul Rahim Ahmad Mahmoud al-Huwaiti | |
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Born | Al-Khraybah, Saudi Arabia |
Died | April 2020 Al-Khraybah, Saudi Arabia |
Nationality | Saudi |
Occupation | Government employee at the Ministry of Finance |
Known for | Resistance against eviction for the Neom project |
Abdul Rahim Ahmad Mahmoud al-Huwaiti (died; April 2020) was a Saudi citizen and member of the Howeitat tribe, known for his resistance against the Saudi government's eviction orders for a mega-project. A government employee at the Ministry of Finance, al-Huwaiti became a symbol of protest after he was killed by Saudi security forces in April 2020, following his refusal to give up his ancestral land. His death sparked international criticism and brought attention to the impact of Saudi Arabia's Neom project on the local population. [1] [2]
Al-Hawiti was a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance. [1]
In April 2020, Al-Hawaiti and other residents were being pressured by the Saudi government to give up their properties and accept financial compensation for a proposed mega new city named Neom. [2] Al-Hawaiti refused to allow the Land Registry Committee to enter his house. [1] He posted several videos on social media protesting against the eviction. [3]
On 13 April 2020, he posted videos online announcing that Saudi security forces were trying to evict him and other members of the Howeitat tribe from their historical homeland to make way for the development of Neom. [4] [5] In the videos, Al-Huwaiti said that he would defy the eviction orders, although he expected that Saudi authorities would plant weapons in his house to incriminate him. [6]
Al-Hawaiti was shot dead by Saudi security forces after he refused to hand over his property for the mega project on the Red Sea. According to Saudi activists, al-Hawaiti was shot dead after recording his last video of security forces storming his property. The Saudi government has not commented on the alleged killing. [2]
Al-Huwaiti's funeral was held near the village of al-Khoraibah and was well attended despite the presence of Saudi security forces. [7]
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have permitted the use of lethal force to clear land for Neom, a $500 billion smart city project planned by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). The BBC spoke to Colonel Rabih Alenezi, a former intelligence officer, who said he was ordered to evict villagers to make way for The Line, part of Neom. The outlet also said that one person was shot and killed for protesting against eviction. Neom is part of Saudi Vision 2030. [8]
On 9 June 2020, the MENA Rights Group and ALQST submitted a letter to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, alleging that al-Hawaiti was subjected to excessive torture by law enforcement officials and executed as a result of the use of disproportionate force acting on behalf of Saudi Arabia. [1]
Al-Hawaiti's death sparked international attention and criticism of the Saudi government's handling of the Neom project and its impact on the local population. [9] [10]
Tabuk is a province of Saudi Arabia, located along the northwestern coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It has an area of 146,072 km2 and a population of 910,030 (2017). Its capital is Tabuk. The governor is Fahd bin Sultan since 1987. In recent years, the province has received substantial media attention due to the Saudi government's planned Neom City project in the province.
Qatif or Al-Qatif is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahd International Airport in the west. This region has its own municipality and includes the Qatif downtown, Safwa, Saihat, Tarout Island, and many other smaller cities and towns.
Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is a member of House of Saud who served as deputy minister of interior from 1975 to 2012 and briefly as minister of interior in 2012. He was detained in March 2020 on the orders of his brother and nephew, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, respectively, and charged with treason.
The Houthi insurgency, also known as the Houthi rebellion, the Sa'dah War, or the Sa'dah conflict, was a military rebellion pitting Zaidi Shia Houthis against the Yemeni military that began in Northern Yemen and has since escalated into a full-scale civil war. The conflict was sparked in 2004 by the government's attempt to arrest Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Zaidi religious leader of the Houthis and a former parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a $55,000 bounty.
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The Howeitat or Huwaitat are a large Judhami tribe that inhabits areas of present-day southern Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula and Sharqia governate in Egypt, the Negev, and northwestern Saudi Arabia. The Howeitat have several branches, notably the Ibn Jazi, the Abu Tayi, the Anjaddat, and the Sulaymanniyin, in addition to a number of associated tribes.
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The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Yemeni revolution from 3 June through 22 September 2011. The Yemeni revolution was a series of major protests, political tensions, and armed clashes taking place in Yemen, which began in January 2011 and were influenced by concurrent protests in the region. Hundreds of protesters, members of armed groups, army soldiers and security personnel were killed, and many more injured, in the largest protests to take place in the South Arabian country for decades.
Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, commonly referred to as Sheikh Nimr, was a Shia sheikh from Al-Awamiyah in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. His arrest and execution were widely condemned by various governments and human rights organizations.
The modern history of Saudi Arabia begins with the declaration of the unification of Saudi Arabia in a single kingdom in 1932. This period of time in Saudi Arabia's history includes the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia and many events. It goes on to encompass Saudi Arabia's brief involvement in World War II in 1945. Afterwards, it includes Saudi Arabia's involvement in the Western Bloc and the Cold War. It also includes Saudi Arabia's proxy conflict with Iran, the Arab Spring, and the ongoing Arab Winter.
Saudi Vision 2030 is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. It was first announced on 25 April 2016 by the Saudi government.
The 2020 G20 Riyadh summit was the fifteenth meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20). It was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was held virtually.
The 2017–2020 Qatif unrest was a phase of conflict in the Qatif region of Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, between Saudi security forces and the local Shia community, that arose sporadically starting in 1979, including a series of protests and repression during the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests.
Neom is an urban area being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province. Launched in 2017 by crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south of Jordan. The total planned area of Neom is 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi). Multiple regions are planned, including a floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources. Saudi Arabia claimed that NEOM would create around 460,000 jobs and add an estimated $48 billion to the country's GDP. Thousands of people have been forcibly moved to make way for the project and villages have been razed.
The Line is a conceptual linear smart city in Saudi Arabia in Neom, Tabuk Province, housed in a single building, that is designed to have no cars, streets or carbon emissions. The original plans called for the city to span 170 kilometres (110 mi) at a height of 500 m (1,600 ft) and a width of 200 metres (660 ft) sized to accommodate a population of 9 million. The Line would have an entirely glass mirror exterior. The plan calls for all basic services to be within a five-minute walking distance.
Al-Faisaliah City Arabic: مدينة الفيصلية is a development project in Makkah Al-Mukarramah region that was revealed by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Governor of Makkah Al-Mukarramah Province in July 2017. It is located between the cities of Jeddah and Makkah Al-Mukarramah.
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Rabih Alenezi is a former intelligence officer and Saudi dissident colonel in the Saudi Arabian police force. Known for his vocal criticism of the Saudi Arabian government, particularly Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Alenezi has been living in exile in the United Kingdom. He has made significant contributions to the discourse on human rights in Saudi Arabia, particularly with respect to the Neom project, a planned megacity in the desert. His allegations of human rights violations and his personal experiences have brought international attention to the issue. Despite facing numerous threats, Col. Alenezi continues to speak out against oppression and advocate for human rights. According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds of migrants are said to have been shot dead on the border with Yemen on the orders of MBS. In a ZDF interview, Col. Rabih spoke of an order that has been carried out for three years: In 2020, a killing order came from Mohammed bin Salman himself. The order said to kill anyone who comes near the Saudi border, any person near the border was considered a terrorist to be neutralized immediately. On the British channel itv, Col. Rabih Alenezi appeared in the movie and confirmed that he had received an order to use lethal force against any resistance from the Al-Huwaitat tribe. However, he pretended to be very ill and apologized for carrying out the mission for fear of being involved in human rights violations. Despite this, the mission proceeded and ended with the killing of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, who refused to evacuate his house for the NEOM LINE project.