Amnesty International: Instead of praising Ronaldo, highlight human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.
Following the recent statements of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo about Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International’s Middle East Researcher Dana Ahmad asked him to focus on human rights cases in this country instead of praising Saudi Arabia unnecessarily.
He said that the Saudi authorities want to use Ronaldo’s presence to make themselves famous and divert attention from the country’s (bad) human rights records, so instead of praising this country unnecessarily, Ronaldo should use the media platforms and look lead to human rights issues in Saudi Arabia.
Ahmad emphasized about the unfortunate situation of human rights in Saudi Arabia, that the Saudi government always executes people for various reasons, and Saudi authorities executed 81 people in just one day last year, and many of them were sentenced in the form of cruel trials. Saudi authorities also continue their campaign to suppress freedom of expression and prevent them from forming or joining congregations, and issue heavy sentences against human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, and other political activists. Ronaldo should not allow his fame and status to become a tool to make Saudi Arabia look good through sports and should use his presence at Al-Nasr Club to speak openly and frankly about the many issues related to human rights in this country.
The captain of the Portuguese national team recently arrived in Riyadh by joining the Al-Nasr club. After the very warm reception of the Portuguese superstar by the Saudi officials, his official introduction ceremony with the Al-Nasr fans was recently held at the “Marsoul Park” stadium.
