Recent events are a stark reminder that freedom of expression is under siege in Saudi Arabia, one of the worst jailers of journalists. DW's Rainer Sollich looks at the country's poor free speech record.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
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Although Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman (MBS) — who is actually a strong man in Riyadh — has positioned himself as a reformer, under his leadership no progress has been made in the areas of freedom of expression and human rights.
According to many experts on the country, the situation has gotten even worse. The most prominent example of this is the case of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who was living in exile and serving as a columnist for the Washington Post when he was murdered in early October 2018 in Istanbul.
Only after weeks of international pressure did Saudi Arabia admit that the murderers were committed by its own secret service. According to American media reports, the CIA is even said to hold evidence that MBS personally ordered the murder of the journalist.
Rainer Sollich, from DW's Middle East Regional Desk
"The Saudi state is dictatorial and oppressive," Saudi Prince Khaled bin Farhan Al-Saud, who lives in exile in Germany, told DW's Arabic language program in October 2018. "The authorities will not tolerate even cautious criticism." He himself is under police protection.
Freedom for women
Saudi women were also victims of harassment and oppression. Although the leadership in Riyadh officially lifted the ban on driving for women in June 2018 and earned international recognition for it, the action was flanked by the arrest of numerous Saudi Arabian human rights and women's rights activists. At least three of the women arrested have been subjected to electric shocks, lashings and various forms of sexual violence, with claims of torture reported by Human Rights Watch in November 2018.
Women's rights in Saudi Arabia: A timeline
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has lifted its driving ban on women and made other strides toward granting women equal rights. But progress is incredibly slow, and lags far behind the rest of the world.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Ammar
1955: First school for girls, 1970: First university for women
Girls have not always been able to go to school like these students in Riyadh. Enrollment at the first school for girls, Dar Al Hanan, began in 1955. The Riyadh College of Education, the first higher education institution for women, opened in 1970.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine
2001: ID cards for women
At the start of the 21st century, women could get personal ID cards for the first time. The cards are the only way for them to prove who they are, for example in disputes relating to inheritance or property issues. IDs were only issued with the permission of a woman's guardian, though, and to the guardian instead of directly to the woman. Only in 2006 were women able to get IDs without permission.
Image: Getty Images/J. Pix
2005: End of forced marriages - on paper
Saudi Arabia banned forced marriage in 2005, but marriage contracts continue to be hammered out between the husband-to-be and the father of the bride, not the bride herself.
Image: Getty Images/A.Hilabi
2009: The first female government minister
In 2009, King Abdullah appointed the first female minister to Saudi Arabia's government. Noura al-Fayez became the deputy education minister for women's affairs.
Image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2012: First female Olympic athletes
Saudi Arabia agreed to allow female athletes to compete on the national team for the Olympics for the first time. One of them was Sarah Attar, who ran the women's 800 meter race at the 2012 Olympics in London wearing a headscarf. Before the Games, there was speculation that the Saudi Arabian team might be banned for gender discrimination if they didn't allow women to participate.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J.-G.Mabanglo
2013: Women are allowed to ride bicycles and motorbikes
Saudi leaders allowed women to ride bicycles and motorbikes for the first time in 2013 — but only in recreational areas, wearing full Islamic body covering and with a male relative present.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
2013: First women in the Shura
In February 2013, King Abdullah swore in the first 30 women to the Shura, Saudi Arabia's consultative council. This allowed women to be appointed to these positions, soon they would be allowed to actually run for office...
Image: REUTERS/Saudi TV/Handout
2015: Women can vote and get elected
In Saudi Arabia's 2015 municipal elections, women were able to vote and run for office for the first time. By contrast, New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote, in 1893. Germany did so in 1919. At the 2015 Saudi polls, 20 women were elected to municipal roles in the absolute monarchy.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Batrawy
2017: First female head of the Saudi stock exchange
In February 2017, the Saudi stock exchange names the first female chairperson in its history, Sarah Al Suhaimi.
Image: pictur- alliance/abaca/Balkis Press
2018: Women to be allowed in sports stadiums
On October 29, 2017, the country's General Sports Authority announced that women would be allowed into sports stadiums for the first time. Three previously male-only arenas will soon be open for women as well, starting in early 2018.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine
2018: Driving ban eliminated
On September 26, 2017, Saudi Arabia announced that women would soon be allowed to drive, causing a flurry of driving courses for women to prepare for June 2018, when they would no longer need permission from their male guardian to get a driver's license or need their guardian in the car when they drive.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Jamali
2019: Saudi women to be notified by text message if they are divorced
The new law, designed to protect them from having their marriage ended without their knowledge, will allow women to check their marital status online or visit a court to get a copy of divorce papers. Human rights defenders say the law does nothing to address the fact that Saudi women can only obtain divorces in exceedingly limited cases — such as with her husband’s consent or if he has harmed her.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Ammar
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Public criticism of such conditions is not possible in Saudi Arabia. The media operate on the same level as journalists' activities and social media activism is strictly monitored. Anyone who expresses criticism is likely to face imprisonment or worse punishments.
Last year, Saudi Arabia once again landed on the "Ranking of Freedom of the Press" published annually by Reporters Without Borders, as one of the worst places for freedom of the press, coming in at 169 out of a total of 180. It is also one of the five countries detaining the highest number of journalists.
Rahaf Mohammed originally planned to flee to Australia but was detained in Thailand until Canada offered her asylumImage: Reuters/M. Blinch
Media attention highlights special cases
However, the recent case of 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun is remarkable. According to her own accounting, she was mistreated and subject to bodily harm by her own parents. She flew from Saudi Arabia to Thailand and was being held when a highly visible Twitter campaign drew attention to her plight. The government of Canada finally granted her asylum. Intense coverage by numerous international media outlets had increased the pressure to act in her case. At the same time, her fate had been largely hushed up by the Saudi media and had been described in the country as anti-Saudi rhetoric orchestrated by foreign media.
