UK ‘turning a blind eye’ to threats to kill Saudi activists living in exile

Activists say Saudi Arabia is one of the main perpetrators of attacks on exiled critics, especially women’s rights activists. Amnesty says it pioneered ‘transnational repression’. Photograph: Alamy

Saudi exiles living in the UK have spoken of threats to their lives and harassment over their support for improvements in human rights in their home country.

Saudi Arabia has been attempting to present itself as a reformed state since the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad at its consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

It has spent billions on sporting deals and promoting tourism in the country and was recently named host of a UN commission on women’s rights, despite what Amnesty International called its “abysmal” record on women’s rights.