The European Parliament's sub-committee on human rights, represented by four of its members – Cristian Dan Preda (EPP, Romania), Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea (ALDE, Spain), Josef Weidenholzer (S&D, Austria) and Lars Adaktusson (EPP, Sweden) – made its first ever visit to Saudi Arabia on 29-31 October, at a time when this country is undertaking "an ambitious economic and social transformation", to use the European Parliament's own words.
During their visit, the four MEPs, accompanied by members of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the Arabian peninsula, called for the release of human rights defenders – and particularly for the release of blogger Raif Badawi, who won the 2015 Sakharov Prize for the freedom of thought (see EUROPE 11421).
In prison since 2012, Badawi is serving a ten-year sentence and was condemned with 1,000 lashes and a heavy fine for "insulting the values of Islam" on his internet site, which is dedicated to social, political and religious debates.
"The delegation hopes to pursue open dialogue with the Saudi authorities on implementing their human rights commitments", the press release adds.
The MEPs stated that their dialogue was "constructive and open" with their interlocutors – particularly the vice-president of the Shura Council, members of this assembly, the foreign and labour ministers, the deputy minister for justice and the Commission on human rights, as well as members of civil society. They discussed "all the relevant questions" – notably the death penalty (including for minors), the freedom of expression and religion, regional security risks (particularly in Yemen and Syria) and the joint fight against radicalisation and extremism.
Becerra Basterrechea added that the delegation had discussed the issue of migrant workers, as well as a roadmap for equal rights for women. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)