Tag: Saudi Arabia

Latest Campaign Against Arms Trade newsletter


Issue No 278 of CAAT news details latest activities of this trade

November 2026

We give coverage to this newsletter from CAAT because of the significance of the arms industry in connection with our political process and for human rights world wide. These are:

  • The industry is one of the few in the UK of any size which is successful internationally and hence creates many jobs. Its role in our economy is therefore significant with a number of marginal seats dependent on the votes of those who work in it.
  • It mounts a huge lobbying effort in parliament. An Israeli firm is back in business lobbying parliamentarians. There is growing concern at the rapid growth and scale of the lobbying (not just from arms firms) and the effects it has on the political process. Human rights groups cannot match the funding arms firms can deploy.
  • To promote the industry, rules have been softened to enable arms to be sold more widely. Claims of ‘robust’ export controls are a falsehood with more and more open licenses being agreed. British weapons have been deployed in Yemen, Gaza and Sudan causing widespread destruction, civilian deaths and injury and the destruction of schools, hospitals, mosques and other buildings.
  • The ‘revolving door‘ corruption sees hundreds of senior military staff, civil servants and parliamentarians accepting well paid directorships and consultancies after their retirement. Controls on this activity are weak.
  • Taken together, the arms industry is a well-funded and highly organised tail wagging a weak political dog. Moral scruples and the misery their products inflict on those at the receiving end do not seem to trouble them or the parliamentarians who are supposedly there to oversee the industry. We must never forget it is women and children who are so often those at the receiving end of this trade, losing lives, limbs or sight in the pursuit of profit.
A nighttime urban scene featuring a revolving door with two businessmen carrying briefcases, surrounded by flying documents, in front of a large building.
Current issue

The current issue covers the following aspects of the trade:

Saudi

In the 7 year war in Yemen, 377, 000 were killed by the coalition. The war involved the indiscriminate attack on schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure. To maximise deaths, weddings and funerals were attacked where numbers were known to gather. Between 6 and 7 thousand BAE employees aided the Saudis. CAAT makes clear the UK and the RAF are complicit in these atrocities.

BAE Systems have been fined a total of $36m for breaching US arms export regulations by selling equipment to among others, China.

Israel

There was initial welcome (including on this site) for the new Foreign Secretary’s decision to hold Israel to account for genocide, apartheid and occupation [of Gaza]. However, they point out, on the crucial question of arms sales to the country, there is far less to applaud. A Labour minister reported in September that no licenses have been suspended. The government it says ‘wants to uphold international law so long as it is not too inconvenient for the arms industry and the UK’s relations with the US‘.

The attitude of the Burnham government towards the industry is not encouraging they point out. Appointments include Jonathan Reynolds who in a previous post was responsible for the F-35 carve-out. We noted above that nothing material has happened about arms sales to Israel. His chief of staff is James Purnell who was chair of Labour Friends of Israel and was chief executive of Flint Global a lobbyist for (you guessed it) arms firms and oil companies.

Dead Letter

This is a report CAAT have produced which we covered in a previous post. In essence the report describes government’s attempts to obfuscate the rules to enable arms sales to continue to regimes despite the killing of innocent people.

Other matters are covered including continuing involvement in the war in Sudan. The essential issue is that the interests of the industry seem to overcome all other considerations. Britain is complicit in some dreadful humanitarian crimes and the killing of thousands with the only thing that seems to matter is that arms sales keep on rolling. Claims by various ministers that things might change look unconvincing based on the background of some of those appointed into key government positions and their statements which turn out to be misleading or plain wrong.

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Exeter University in the spotlight

Student walking on illuminated bridge beside towering sandstone rock formations

Serious doubts raised over their deal with Saudi Arabia

August 2026

Any organisation preparing to engage in a commercial transaction with a state like Saudi Arabia, needs to ask itself some serious questions. Exeter University is reported in the Guardian newspaper (29th August) to have agreed to offer a MA course ‘applied security and strategy’ with a Saudi University. Whether the university asked itself those questions is unknown but having agreed to offer it they seemed keen to keep it quiet.

The University was in the news earlier in the year when it announced that it was axing 150 jobs in the humanities and social sciences departments and along with other universities, is struggling financially. The main reason is the drop in the number of overseas students due to government restrictions which ended a lucrative income stream. They need to work hard to ward off more serious financial problems.

Little positive to say about Saudi Arabia

What can we say about Saudi, their proposed partner? Firstly, there is no realistic free speech in the country and those who displease the authorities are arrested and imprisoned for long periods. It executes large numbers of people and 2025 was a record at 347 (although it is likely to be more) which was just ahead of 2024’s total of 345. Charges are vague and confessions are often acquired using torture. Apostasy is still a crime. Few have any legal defence. Executions are carried out in public and the most frequent method is beheading with a sword.

Women’s rights are dismal and the ‘guardianship’ system is still in place. This law formally enshrines male guardianship over women, requiring them to obtain a male guardian’s consent for marriage and giving husbands significant authority over wives, including financial support contingent on “obedience” and marital cohabitation.

Migrants have few rights

They have wreaked terrible destruction in Yemen with a war against the Houthis backed by Iran.

If the university considered these issues they would had to have weighed up organising a masters programme against the dire human rights situation in Saudi. They may have drawn comfort from the UK’s relaxed attitude allowing arms sales and other commercial deals to take place making them one of our largest countries for our weaponry. Selling arms and helping Saudi with their assault on Yemen is surely worse than running a teaching course in Exeter they might reason.

The issue comes down to integrity and morals. How much do you, as a university, take into account the large number of executions, torture, lack of human rights, lack of an opposition and women treated as vassals, against a lucrative income training some people from the National Defense University in Riyadh?

The University’s college union, UCU, is not impressed and has said ‘they (the university) is more interested in flogging military training to despotic regimes than in defending world class humanities and social sciences teaching.’ It looks as though the university chose money over morals.

Sources: Guardian; Death Penalty Information Center; Human Rights Watch; Amnesty; Exeter University.

Image generated by AI.

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Latest Death Penalty Report


Report for mid – July to mid – August

August 2026

We are pleased to attach the latest report with thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. The highlights in the report are

  • Conditional pardon offered to Ruth Ellis who was the last person to be hanged in Britain
  • In Lebanon a law has been passed abolishing the death penalty.  It will be the only country in the Middle East formally to end the penalty
  • Florida continues with its spate of executions including two on one day and Governor DeSantis is busy signing fresh warrants
  • Jermaine Wright, Delaware, becomes the 203rd person exonerated since 1973 and is declared innocent after 34 years on death row.

As ever we note that there is no data from China – believed to execute more of its citizens than the rest of the world put together – because they are a state secret. It is another aspect of the persecution of the Uyghurs the subject of a series of posts elsewhere on this site.

Report: mid – July to mid – August (Word)Download

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Death penalty report


Monthly report on the use of the penalty around the world

July 2026.

There is a lot of interest in this month’s report which covers the period mid-June to mid-July 2026 and is preprared by group member Lesley to whom we are grateful for the work in compiling it. There is more content in this report on conferences where the future of the penalty was discussed for example the Ninth World Congress Against the Death Penalty.

Report June July (Word)Download
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Latest Death Penalty report


May 2026

We are pleased to attach the latest report for mid-April to mid-May thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. It contains details of the penalty around the world including a massive number of executions in Iran and how Saudi has executed large numbers in recent years. Singapore is mentioned with its policy of executing individuals involved in the drugs trade. Florida continues to feature with the Governor signing warrants for executions.

Israel’s proposals to re-introduce the penalty and to hold public trials for those held following the 7th October massacre is discussed and the responses to the change from countries around the world. Israel seems to be sliding ever backwards with its genocide, apartheid, violence and now the reintroduction of the death penalty last used on Adolph Eichmann.

As ever, we have to note that China is thought to be the world’s largest executioner but details are a state secret. There is a disturbing report from Australia however with some details but there is a warning about its content.

Report: April May (Word)DownloadDownload
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Latest death penalty report


January 2026

We are pleased to attach the latest death penalty report thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. Florida is a feature this month with the rapid increase in the number of executions. Saudi has executed a huge number of people – almost one a day. We note as ever that China executes more of its people than the rest of the world combined but details are a state secret.

Mid December to mid January. WordDownload
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Surge in executions in Saudi


Almost one execution a day and a new record

January 2026

No less than 356 people were executed in 2025 exceeding the grizzly total of 338 in the previous year. Large numbers are foreign individuals. Many are executed for drugs crimes sometimes involving trivial amounts. Trials are notoriously unfair and the use of torture is routine. Most executions are thought to be by beheading.

Human Rights Watch refers to the ‘weaponising the penalty’ as a means to curb dissent. The de facto leader of Saudi is Mohammad bin Salman who was said to be keen to modernise the Kingdom. On this showing it would seem he has some way to go.

Sportswashing

A feature of the Kingdom is the vast amount being spent on sport in what has been termed ‘sportswashing’. Aided by leaders such as Boris Johnson and Donald Trump he has purchased the English football club Newcastle United and has secured the rights to the World Cup in 2034. This increase in largesse followed the murder of Khashoggi which sent huge shock waves around the world and was almost certainly ordered by MBS. We have noted before that there is no difficulty in recruiting sportsmen and women to compete in a wide variety of sports including golf, tennis, F1 motor racing, cycling and equestrianism.

He quoted as saying that “he does not care about sportswashing criticism” so long as the long-term diversification away from oil dependency is successful.

He need not worry. Western politicians are falling over themselves to visit and seek to secure trade deals. The British government’s desire for growth means human rights considerations are unlikely to intrude. The massive number of executions are unlikely to form more than a ripple on the UK government’s desire for exports, the sale of arms and investment in the UK itself.

There is a small hint of concern in an Early Day Motion 1411 in June last year:

“That this House remains concerned about human rights violations in Saudi Arabia; welcomes the recent release of dozens of political prisoners, including University of Leeds PhD student Salma al-Shehab, human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani, and doctor Lina Alsharif; notes, however, that released individuals face continued restrictions, including travel bans; further notes that others remain arbitrarily imprisoned for peaceful dissent, such as Manahel al-Otaibi; is alarmed by the record number of death penalty executions, with 345 in 2024 and over 140 in 2025 so far, with a number of persons who committed their alleged crimes as minors facing execution; is concerned about labour exploitation and potential deaths of workers in connection with the 2034 FIFA World Cup and other mega-projects in the absence of fundamental labour rights reform; calls on the UK Government to urge Saudi Arabia to release all those imprisoned for defending or exercising their rights and to establish a moratorium on use of the death penalty; and further calls on the Government to actively raise such rights issues and cases of concern, including in connection with on-going discussions with Gulf Cooperation Council states on a Free Trade Agreement”. [Source House of Commons accessed 2 January]

There were 15 signatures, none of which were Conservative.

One execution is noteworthy and that is of Turki al-Jasser in June. He was a journalist who worked for the Al Taqreer newspaper which the regime closed down. He wrote articles exposing the corruption within the Royal Family. He was arrested and his home searched. Much of what happened to him was surrounded in secrecy. His family did not know of his execution until after the event.

We seem to have moved to a situation where a high level of gross human rights violations are the norm and the desire for trade effectively trumps any meaningful political concern. Sport is being successfully being used to sanitise the regime’s reputation and millions are happy to spectate with little concern for what takes place behind the scenes.

Sources: HRW, MSN, Guardian, Council on Foreign Relations, Amnesty.

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September 2025 Death Penalty Report: Key Insights


Full report for mid August to mid September

September 2025

We are pleased to attach the latest death penalty report for the above period thanks for the work put in by group member Lesley in compiling it. Contains extensive information from the US where the appetite for executions seems to be increasing in some states. Florida for example is the leading state at the moment. We have to caution as ever that China executes more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined but information is a state secret.

Sharifa Mohamadi sentenced to death in Iran for her human rights work.

Report August – September (Word)Download
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Death penalty report


December 2024

We are pleased to attach our latest death penalty report covering the period mid November to mid December 2024 with thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling this. As ever we must note that China is believed to execute more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined but the details are a state secret. This month saw the toppling of the Assad regime in Syria. People were able to gain access to the prisons where thousands were tortured and executed.

Report mid November to Mid December (Word)Download

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Bi-Monthly Death Penalty Report – October 2024


October 2024

We are pleased to attach the latest bi-monthly report on the death penalty thanks to group member Lesley for the work in preparing this. It is worth remembering that the 10 October was the World Day Against the Death Penalty. As usual we note that China is believed to execute more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined but details are a state secret.

Death Penalty Report Sept – Oct (Word)Download
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