HRW voices raises alarm over Saudi ‘corruption’ arrests

RIYADH: Human Rights Watch voiced concern on Tuesday over the arrest of around 300 government officials in Saudi Arabia on corruption allegations, warning of possible "unfair legal proceedings" in an opaque judicial system.

Military and judicial officials were among the 298 people arrested over allegations of bribery and embezzlement amounting to a total of 379 million riyals ($101 million), the state anti-corruption watchdog Nazaha said on Sunday.

"The fight against corruption is no excuse for flagrant due process violations and preventing people from mounting an adequate defence," Michael Page, HRW’s deputy Middle East director said in a statement.

"Given their track record of abuse, the Saudi authorities should make fundamental reforms to the justice system to ensure that the accused will not be railroaded in unfair legal proceedings." Nazaha said the arrests came after it criminally investigated 674 state employees, but it neither named any of the suspects nor stated when its probe took place.

It was the latest government crackdown on what officials describe as endemic corruption in the kingdom. A campaign against graft launched in 2017 saw hundreds of elite princes, ministers and businessmen held at the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in the capital Riyadh.

Many were detained for weeks there, but most were released after agreeing significant financial settlements. Authorities said they recovered more than 400 billion Saudi riyals ($107 billion). The anti-graft sweep led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been labelled by many critics as a shakedown and a power grab.