Royal decision in Saudi Arabia raises widespread scarcity
A royal decision ridiculed and widely circulated in social media, following its publication by the official news agency (SPA) in the format of breaking news.
(SPA) said, King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a decision to change the name of “the Equestrian Club” to “Horse Racing Club”.
The agency explained that the Chairman of the Equestrian Club Council Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal extended “thanks the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the honorary president of the club, for his generous patronage, and his continuous support for all that has been achieved in the development and progress of horse racing throughout its history.”
A Saudi chirp sarcastically mocked the decision, and the way it was dealt with by the official news agency, noting that there was no difference between the two names. In return, pro-government accounts warned all the cynics of the decision that this would expose them to legal accountability.
Since Muhammad bin Salman took the reins of the reign of Al-Ahd in the Kingdom after his cousin Muhammad bin Nayef was removed in a white coup in June 2018, the Saudi authorities, specifically the security services directly affiliated to the Crown Prince’s office, led by the newly established State Security Service, have launched Arrest campaigns against political, social and human rights activists from different backgrounds.
A Saudi tweeter said: “This is the news I had been waiting for years.”
Other said: “Praise be to God, finally, and at the right time, our grow old waiting for this moment.”
Human Rights Watch recently said that the Kingdom’s criminal justice system is notorious and has serious gaps, including the risk of torture, and unfair trials.
The organization pointed out that the Kingdom has one of the highest death rates in the world, and it executes people for crimes that include murder, drug smuggling, rape and armed robbery, terrorist crimes. It is one of the few countries that imposes the death penalty on juvenile offenders.
The organization stressed that the Kingdom also needs to start a laborious process to reform the entire judicial system and professionalize it so that all Saudi citizens and residents will have confidence that they will receive a fair trial.
