Saudi Arabia has spent at least $1.5bn on high-profile international sporting events in a bid to bolster its reputation, a new report reveals. Observers estimate that at least two-thirds of these deaths were caused by Saudi Arabia’s aggressive campaign of airstrikes. A recently declassified US intelligence report named MBS as ultimately responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Meanwhile, the Kingdom has spent big to secure involvement in global sporting events, part of efforts to present Saudi Arabia as a newly business-friendly, forward-thinking nation. “Saudi Arabia is trying to use the good reputation of the world’s best loved sports stars to obscure a human rights record of brutality, torture and murder,” said Grant Liberty’s Lucy Rae, who accused Saudi Arabia of “committing human rights abuses on an industrial scale”.

Source: The Guardian March 28, 2021 13:07 UTC