Saudi Arabia: How the government “authorized murder” to build its future city of Neom

Saudi authorities have given permission for the use of lethal force to clear land where dozens of Western companies are building a futuristic city in the desert, a former intelligence officer told the BBC.

Colonel Rabih Alneji claims he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Saudi desert where he would pass Line (line), part of the NEOM ecological project.

One of them was shot dead when he protested against the eviction.

The Saudi government and Neom management declined to comment.

Neom, Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion ecoregion, is part of its Saudi Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to diversify the kingdom’s economy beyond oil.

His symbolic project, LineJust 200 meters wide and 170 km long, it has been presented as a car-free city, although only a 2.4 km portion of the project is expected to be completed by 2030.

Dozens of international companies, many of which are British, are involved in the creation of Neom.

The area where Neom is being built has been described by Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the perfect “blank canvas”. But this project has caused displacement of more than 6,000 peopleAccording to his government, this figure is much higher than estimates by the UK-based human rights group ALQST.

The BBC has analyzed satellite images of the three collapsed villages, Al Zuraiba, Sharma and Gayal. Homes, schools and hospitals have been wiped off the map.

Colonel Alenzi, who went into exile in the United Kingdom last year, assures that the demolition order he had to give was for Al Zuraiba, which is 4.5 kilometers south. Line

According to Alenzi, the April 2020 order stated that Huwaitat was composed of “many rebels” and “anyone who continues to resist (the expulsion) should be killed”, which is why it prohibited anyone from staying in its territory. “has authorized the use of lethal force against any person.” Home.”

He avoided participating in the mission by inventing medical reasons, but it went ahead anyway, he told the BBC.

One villager, Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, refused to allow the Property Registration Committee to appraise his property, and was shot dead by Saudi officers during an evacuation mission a day later. He had previously published several videos on social networks in protest against the eviction.

In a statement, the Saudi intelligence service then alleged that Al Huwaiti had fired on security forces and were forced to respond. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have said he was killed for opposing the eviction.

The BBC was unable to independently verify Colonel Alenzi’s statements regarding the use of lethal force.

But a source familiar with the workings of the Saudi intelligence directorate assured the BBC that the colonel’s testimony – both how the expulsion order was communicated and what it said – matched what he knew about these types of missions.

He also said that a colonel’s level of seniority would be appropriate to lead the mission.

According to the UN and ALQST, at least 47 other residents were detained after protesting the eviction, several of whom were prosecuted on terrorism-related charges. 40 of them are in custody, Five of whom are on death row, according to ALQST.

The group said several people were arrested for publicly mourning al-Huwaiti’s death on social media.

Saudi officials say compensation has been offered to people who have had to relocate due to construction Line, But according to ALQST, the amount paid is much less than what they promised.

According to Colonel Alenzi, “(Neom) is central to Mohammed bin Salman’s ideas. That’s why he was so brutal in dealing with Huwaitat.”

A former senior executive at the Neom Ski Project told the BBC that he heard about the killing of Abdul Rahim Al Huwaiti just weeks before he left his country, the United States, to take up the post in 2020. andy wirth He claims that he repeatedly asked his employers about the eviction, but did not receive a satisfactory response.

“It feels like something terrible has been imposed on these people…you can’t step on their necks to move forward,” he said.

Wirth left the project less than a year after joining it, disillusioned with its management.

CEO of a British desalination company who pulled out of a US$100 million project Line in 2022 This is also very serious,

“It might be good for some high-tech people living in that area, but what about the rest of us?” said Malcolm AW, CEO of Solar Water PLC.

He said that local people should see their knowledge of the area as a valuable asset.

“We have to look for that advice to improve, to create, to rebuild without expelling them.”

Displaced residents were very reluctant to comment, fearing that speaking to foreign media could put their detained relatives at greater risk.

But the BBC was able to speak to people who were evicted from other sites that are also part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan.

More than one million people have been displaced by this project Central Jeddah In Jeddah City in western Saudi Arabia, which will include an opera house, a sports district and high-end residential and commercial units.

Nader Hijazi (not his real name) grew up in Aziziyah, one of about 63 neighborhoods affected by the demolitions. His father’s house was demolished in 2021, for which he received less than a month’s notice.

Hijazi claims that the photos he saw of his old neighborhood were shocking and reminiscent of a war zone.

“They are waging a war against the people, a war against our identity.”

Saudi activists told the BBC that two people were arrested last year in connection with the Jeddah demolition, one for physically protesting the eviction and the other for posting pictures of anti-demolition graffiti on his social media. it was done.

A relative of a detainee held in the central prison of Dhahban in Jeddah claimed that he had heard that 15 other people were detained for allegedly organizing a farewell in a neighborhood that was being demolished. Due to difficulties in contacting people held in Saudi prisons, the BBC has not been able to confirm this.

ALQST surveyed 35 people evacuated from Jeddah neighborhoods. None of them received compensation or adequate notice under local law, he said, and more than half said they were forced to leave their homes under threat of arrest.

Colonel Alenzi currently lives in the United Kingdom, but still fears for his safety. He claims that an intelligence officer told him that he would be offered $5 million if he would attend a meeting with the Saudi Interior Minister at the Saudi Embassy in London. He said, no. We informed the Saudi government about this allegation, but they did not respond.

Attacks against Saudi government critics living abroad are not without precedent: the most notable was the attack of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who lived in the United States and was murdered by Saudi agents inside the consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Was.

A damning US intelligence report concluded that Mohammed bin Salman approved the operation. The Crown Prince has denied any involvement.

But Colonel Alenzi has no regrets about his decision to disobey Saudi Arabia’s orders regarding the future city.

“Mohammed bin Salman will not allow any obstacles to stand in the way of the construction of Neom… I am increasingly worried about what I might be asked to do to my own people.”

Additional reporting by Erwan Revolt.

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