Financial Times: Saudi Arabia Steps Up Crackdown on Critics of Declining Living Standards and Cuts to Social Welfare

NYN | Reports and Analyses 

The British newspaper Financial Times has revealed that Saudi authorities have intensified their repressive measures in recent weeks against citizens who have voiced criticism of worsening living conditions and tighter social welfare policies, at a time when the kingdom is undergoing a broad reduction in the number of beneficiaries of government support programs.

According to the paper’s report, the General Commission for Audiovisual Media announced in December that it had imposed fines on nine individuals and ordered them to shut down their social media accounts for publishing what the authorities described as “violating content.” These measures followed the arrest of six people last November on charges of “systematically disseminating information with the aim of inciting public opinion.” The detainees are facing trials under the Cybercrime Law, with penalties that could include up to five years in prison and fines of up to three million Saudi riyals.

The newspaper quoted the Saudi human rights organization SANAD, based in the United Kingdom, as saying that these steps form part of an escalating approach targeting critical voices, through the use of legal frameworks and regulatory bodies as tools of surveillance and punishment for expressing opinions. The organization said the recent arrests came as a direct response to a growing wave of online criticism of social security system reforms.

The report noted that the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has tightened eligibility criteria for welfare programs, resulting in thousands of citizens being deprived of the monthly allowances they had relied on, as part of an official policy aimed at reducing subsidies and encouraging employment in the private sector.

The report highlighted one arrest case involving a citizen who posted a video complaining that his amputee sister had been denied social security benefits, arguing that citizens have the right to express their grievances, especially in light of extensive government spending on foreign aid.

Financial Times said these developments reflect a striking paradox in the Saudi landscape, where social opening and the easing of restrictions on entertainment coincide with increasing constraints on freedom of expression and a shrinking tolerance for any public criticism of government performance.

The newspaper also quoted a senior Saudi official as saying that the government seeks to ensure that support reaches those who are entitled to it, stressing that appeal mechanisms exist to review cases in which assistance has been denied. However, comments by Saudi businessman Yazeed Al-Rajhi, in which he attacked criticism directed at the authorities, sparked widespread anger and were seen by activists as evidence of a disconnect between economic elites and the suffering of ordinary citizens.

The report concluded by citing the view of an academic who said that the recent arrests indicate a narrowing of the space for permissible criticism in the kingdom, noting that the authorities now tolerate only what he described as “polite criticism,” and within narrow limits that relate to specific individuals.