Al-Hwaitat People “Horrified” that Boris Johnson wants to visit Saudi Vanity Project NEOM Megacity where people have been killed or forcefully evicted

Boris Johnson wants to visit Saudi

• Saudi Arabia is forcefully evicting Al-Hwaitat Tribe members from their ancestral land to build the NEOM Megacity Project.
• One man has been killed for protesting his forced evictions and 22 others have been arrested or forcefully disappeared.
• Lawyers representing Saudi activist living in London, Alya Al-Hwaiti sent letter to Dominic Raab asking him to Boycott the G20
• The UN Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous people and on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Person have all been asked to investigate the allegations.

21^st November 2020

LONDON – In a pre-recorded statement played at the G20 summit, hosted by Saudi Arabia, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his excitement and support for the NEOM Megacity project being built in Saudi Arabia. This has caused an outcry amongst members of the Al-Hwaitat tribe who have been living on various tracts of the land being used for the project, for hundreds of years.

The Huwaitat people are not against the building of the city, however they have a right and desire to be included in its construction and to benefit from the use of their ancestral lands. Unfortunately, despite many promises, this has not happened.

In April 2020, Abdul Rahim Al-Hwaiti was killed by Saudi forces trying to evict him from his home. Since then, 22 other Al-Hwaitat people have been arrested or kidnapped in the middle of the night and never heard from again. Many of them were Abdula Rahim’s family members.

A letter was sent to British Foreign Secretary Dominc Raab expressing concern about the project and asking him to either boycott or downgrade his attendance at the summit.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Speaking from London Alya Al-Huwaiti said, “I am really horrified that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he wished he could visit the NEOM project. People have been killed or arrested and completely disappeared by Saudi security forces to make way for this project which is being built on our blood and bones.

The Saudi government has been offering very little money to our people and if they do not accept it, they are forced to move. Abdulrahim was one of the people who did not want to move from our ancestral land and he was murdered. I asked my lawyers to send Dominic Raab a letter asking him to Boycott the meeting because of the Human Rights abuses being done to my people. To hear the Prime Minister say he wishes he would visit is extremely offensive. His government clearly does not care about human rights.”

Rodney Dixon QC who sent the letter to Raab said, “The Saudi authorities must be investigated and held accountable for the violations they are allegedly committing against the Huwaitat people. To forcefully evict people from their ancestral homes and in the process kill and abduct those who try to stop these unlawful evictions constitute very serious crimes and human rights abuses. We asked Dominic Raab to boycott or downgrade the UK Government’s attendance at the G20 summit but he has yet to reply, it is unacceptable that Prime Minister Johnson has expressed his support for the NEOM project.

The UN special rapporteurs and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights must urgently intervene in order to prevent any further deaths, disappearances and grave threats to life which are in clear breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Saudi Arabia is a signatory.”For questions or to arrange interview please email Nikita Bernardi [email protected]

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