Featured stories about Saudi Arabia
Stories about Saudi Arabia
22 September 2017
Saudi Arabia Eases Restrictions on Messaging Apps, But WhatsApp and Viber Are Still Blocked
Since 2013, the Saudi government has partially or fully blocked chat and call applications including WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger and FaceTime.
24 June 2017
Meet the Saudi Woman Who Ignited a Firestorm When She Got Behind the Wheel
Challenging prohibitions on driving in Saudi Arabia is no easy task.
21 June 2017
As Deadline to Leave Saudi Arabia Nears, Ethiopian Workers Trapped Between Two Bad Choices
"It is horrifying that most Ethiopians have not shown an interest in returning home despite risk of violence."
16 June 2017
Ditching the Egyptian Islands: Between Cash, Legitimacy, and Public Outrage
Going against popular opinion, Sisi is transferring the ownership of two Egyptian Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, and Egyptians are fighting back.
8 June 2017
Netizen Report: Gulf States Say ‘Pro-Qatar’ Speech Now Constitutes Cybercrime
Global Voices Advocacy's Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in Internet rights around the world.
17 April 2017
#SaveDinaAli: Activists Call for Release of Saudi Woman Forcibly Sent Back to the Kingdom
"If I go back to Saudi Arabia, I will be dead. Please help me, I am recording this video to help me and know that I am real and here."
12 March 2017
Indonesians Gleefully Welcome Saudi King, But Activists Are Wary of Riyadh's Influence
"Saudi learns pluralism from Indonesia. We learn Wahhabism from Saudi. We're even," wrote a Twitter user during the visit.
21 February 2017
Unsurprisingly, Saudi Arabia's Politicians and Media Love Trump's Tough Talk on Iran
Some, however, warned that escalating tensions could end badly: "We live in the same region with Iran, any war on Iran means we all going to be devastated".
8 January 2017
Conflict in Yemen Takes Heavy Toll on Country's Children
"Hunger is the most dominant thought on Yemenis minds during this period."
27 December 2016
Saudi Arabia Promises to Stop Using British-Made Cluster Bombs in Yemen
Saudi Arabia has promised to stop using British-made cluster bombs, which are prohibited by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, in its air strikes in Yemen.
22 December 2016
Assaults on Rights Activists Harm Civil Society — And Saudi Arabia's Progress
Saudi Arabia's ongoing crackdown on peaceful activism is depriving activists of their freedom and basic rights -- and it's costing the kingdom the work and creativity of its brightest reformists.
28 October 2016
Netizen Report: Protesters Flush SIMs, Set Fire to Modems in Saudi Telecom Boycott
Global Voices Advocacy's Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in Internet rights around the world.
24 October 2016
Saudi Mobile Data Quality Provokes National Protest Against Bad Service
Saudi social media users are protesting against the nation's mobile network operators' bad service and the continued blocking of VoIP apps that are supposed to be available for free.
4 September 2016
Hundreds of Thousands Join Saudi Women-Led Campaign to End Male Guardianship in the Kingdom
Hundreds of thousands of online users have joined a Saudi women-lead campaign to end male guardianship in the kingdom.
25 August 2016
WikiLeaks: From Collateral Murder to Collateral Recklessness
From rape victims to democratic party donors, WikiLeaks' latest data dumps demonstrate a disturbing trend of publishing the personal information of private individuals.
19 July 2016
Iranian Hardliners Want to Stop Blocking Twitter — to Defeat Saudi Propaganda
Iranian hardliners, typically champions of Internet censorship, are calling on the government to stop blocking Twitter in order to counter Saudi Arabian propaganda against Iran.
10 April 2016
Egyptian President Sisi “Sells” Disputed Sanafir and Tiran Islands to Saudi Arabia
Lawyers have filed complaints against the move, saying Sisi's decision to give up the Red Sea islands of Sanafir and Tarin, without approval from Parliament, is "unconstitutional."
22 March 2016
Indian Migrant Worker Arrested in Saudi Arabia For Denouncing Working Conditions on Facebook
"People stuck...in a country where they are treated worse than dogs, for years in very bad conditions, that's the reality 'necessary' for us to fuel our tanks. Infuriating and depressing."
28 February 2016
Saudi Arabia Sentences Twitter User to 10 Years in Prison and 2,000 Lashes for Apostasy
Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Twitter user to 10 years in prison in addition to 2,000 lashes for publishing 600 tweets "which spread atheism" online.
20 February 2016
Thirty Saudi Religious Police Complete Course on How to Fight Black Magic
Thirty members of the Commission for the Protection of Virtue and Prevention of Vice completed a five-day course on how to fight black magic, identify sorcerers and even break their...
