Killers Are Not Welcome: Protests Sweep London Streets Against MBS’ Planning Visit
Under the slogan “Killers Are Not Welcome,” protesters took into the streets in London against the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)’s planned visit to the UK to participate at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral next Monday.
Large numbers of people gathered outside the Saudi Embassy in London, rejecting MBS’ upcoming visit to the country to pay his respects to the Queen.
The protest was organised by the legal advocacy NGO Detained International, which provides pro bono legal advocacy to victims of injustice, inequality and other Human Rights violations in the UAE and the wider Middle East.
During the protests, banners reading “murderers and human rights violators are not welcome” were raised.
Head of Detained International David Haigh expressed regret of receiving MBS as a statesman while his hands are still stained with blood in Yemen.
We cannot accept his visit to the UK or participation at the Queen’s funeral especially as we are approaching the fourth anniversary of the assassination of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Istanbul Saudi consulate in 2018, Haigh continued.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) commented: “The UK simply should not be welcoming dictators from states renowned for their atrocious human rights records, regardless of the region they come from.”
In his turn, the activist in Stop the War, Stephen Bell, said that MBS is responsible for one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, where millions of people were killed and displaced in Yemen, calling for holding him accountable for his crimes and not to be hosted in a country that respects human rights and freedoms like the UK.
The activist Tina Jauhiainen said, “I know very well that female activists are subjected to arbitrary arrest and torture under MBS’ rule, because I had experienced such violations in the UAE.”
Detained International declared a set of protests to be held in the coming days against MBS’ visit to the UK, including a vigil outside the BBC headquarters in London on Monday, 09/19/2022 at 4 PM.
