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Saudi Atrocities Go Unnoticed

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Included was Mohammed bin Bakr al-Alawi who was beheaded for allegedly practicing black magic sorcery, the Saudi Gazette reported. Another Saudi man was beheaded in 2012 for "sorcery and witchcraft."

4. Human rights for Saudi women are among the worst in the world

Woman are not allowed "to leave the house, make a purchase, sign any legal document -- in fact perform almost any official action, from agreeing to surgery, to signing up to a class -- without the consent of a guardian, either the husband or the father.

Yet, even these suffocating measures give only scant impression of the status of Saudi women in a society where even their court testimony is worth half of that of a man," RT reported.

There are many other things women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to do, including:

  • Drive a car
  • Go for a swim
  • Compete freely in sports
  • Try on clothes when shopping
  • Enter a cemetery
  • Read an uncensored fashion magazine

According to the 2013 World Report by Human Rights Watch, "punishment for domestic violence remain[s] lax (in Saudi Arabia.) The government failed to enact a 2011 draft law to combat violence against women and children. In May, Jeddah's Summary Court convicted a man for physically abusing his wife to the point of hospitalization, but sentenced him to learning by heart five parts of the Qur'an and 100 sayings of the Prophet Muhammad."

In 2014, the World Economics Forum ranked Saudi Arabia 130 out of 142 countries in its annual report on gender equality.

5. The monarchy is a cash machine for terrorists

In 2010, The Guardian wrote that WikiLeaks cables portrayed Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists. "Saudi Arabia is the world's largest source of funds for Islamist militant groups such as the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba -- but the Saudi government is reluctant to stem the flow of money, according to Hillary Clinton. "More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups," says a secret December 2009 paper signed by the US secretary of state."

"Saudi Arabia, and the other Sunni countries in the Middle East, have been financially and morally supporting the growing and evolving Sunni insurgency against Shias in the region for years. They have intentionally bankrolled groups whose mission it is to wipe out the Shia minority in the region. First they started with al-Qaeda, and then they bankrolled what became ISIS," wrote Thom Hartmann, although the Saudis vehemently deny support of ISIS.

The Atlantic reported in June 2014, the success of ISIS "is in part due to the support they have received from two Persian Gulf countries: Qatar and Saudi Arabia," though there remains much debate about whether or not the Kingdom is in fact supporting ISIS.

Why isn't Washington being transparent?

If the United States chooses to support, and provide weapons to an un-elected Saudi government that is among the world's worst human rights violators, it should at least do so transparently.

Would the people of the United States go along with the Saudi attacks in Yemen if it knew how the Saudi monarchy operates?

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Chris Ernesto is cofounder of St. Pete for Peace, an antiwar organization in St. Petersburg, FL that has been active since 2003. Mr. Ernesto also created and manages OccupyArrests.com and USinAfrica.com.

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