Together for Justice Calls for Ending Cooperation with Turki Al-Sheikh Following Revelations of Grave Human Rights Violations
Together for Justice expresses its deep concern regarding the findings of the investigative report published by The Athletic, a division of The New York Times. The report exposes Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, as being implicated in a series of serious and systematic human rights violations.
According to the investigation, which relied on dozens of corroborated testimonies, Al-Sheikh orchestrated a wide-ranging campaign of repression, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and acts of torture, often targeting individuals for merely expressing critical opinions on social media. Victims were reportedly detained in a designated section of Al-Ha’ir Prison, known among inmates as the “Tutu Wing”, reserved specifically for those who criticized Al-Sheikh.
The report further indicates that Al-Sheikh personally directed or oversaw operations in which individuals were forcibly summoned, assaulted, and coerced into deleting critical content under threats of imprisonment. In some cases, victims were abandoned in remote areas following their detention. Evidence also suggests that Al-Sheikh offered financial inducements to victims in exchange for their silence regarding the abuses they suffered.
Additionally, the investigation documents the arbitrary detention of scholars such as Omar Al-Muqbil, and community leaders like Sheikh Faisal bin Sultan bin Humaid, solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression. The case of Egyptian singer Amal Maher was also highlighted, raising serious concerns regarding her enforced disappearance following allegations of assault against Al-Sheikh.
Together for Justice stresses that these findings confirm that Al-Sheikh is not acting independently but represents an integral part of the broader system of repression in Saudi Arabia. His close association with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his leading role in major entertainment and sports projects, reflect the regime’s systematic efforts to whitewash its human rights record internationally.
In light of these revelations, Together for Justice calls on all international institutions, particularly in the fields of sports, culture, and entertainment, to immediately cease all forms of cooperation with Turki Al-Sheikh and any entities linked to him.
Cooperation with individuals implicated in human rights abuses constitutes complicity in perpetuating systemic repression.
Together for Justice further urges relevant United Nations bodies, international human rights organizations, and independent mechanisms to initiate thorough investigations into these violations and to ensure they are reflected in international reports addressing the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
It is essential that the international community upholds the principle that there can be no normalization with those responsible for human rights abuses, regardless of the scale of their public relations efforts.
