Saudi Arabia sentences three men to death for refusing to leave their homes for $500 billion city to be built

Three indigenous men have been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia after they refused to move out of their homes.

The men had been asked to leave their residence to make way for NEOM, a futuristic city state that’s estimated to cost $500bn and is the brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The three men - who were members of the Howeitat tribe, also known as al-Huwaitat - were handed death sentences by Saudi Arabia’s special courts on 2 October.

The Howeitat people reside in towns and villages in the northwest of Saudi Arabia.

NEOM

Shadli, Attaullah and Ibrahim al-Howeitat were first arrested in 2020 and sentenced to death weeks ago, while a month prior - in September - other Howeiti people were sentenced to 50 years in prison, according to VICE.

Their sentence was handed down by Saudi Arabia's Specialised Criminal Court, which is mainly used by the kingdom to charge dissidents and human rights activists.

UNILAD has approached ALQST for Human Rights - the nonprofit that first reported the news - for comment.

In April 2020, Shadli, Attaullah and Ibrahim’s brother - Abdul Rahim - was shot and killed by Saudi special forces after he used his final social media post to criticise the compulsory eviction.

@ALQST_En/Twitter

Abdul Rahim said Saudi Arabia was guilty of ‘state terrorism’ and before his death had become a vocal opponent to NEOM.

The government said his death was the result of a ‘shootout with security forces’ and insisted Abdul Rahim had to be ‘neutralised’, also alleging he ‘barricaded himself in his house’ and ‘threw molotov cocktails’ at security forces.

VICE also notes that his body was held for weeks by authorities before being returned to his family and the government closed his case without releasing more details.

What’s more, the Saudi government offered to pay people in the community to condemn Howeitat’s actions and anyone who spoke out against the move was ‘quickly silenced’.

Independent Photo Agency / Alamy Stock Photo

Earlier this year, a new video was released that offered an insight into The Line - one of NEOM’s most famous aspects.

The Line is a mind-blowing skyscraper that will stretch for 75 miles and stand 500m tall.

It’s billed as a huge mirror-sided building that stretches for miles across Saudi Arabia and into the sky.

Homes, businesses, and more will be stacked up across the 200 metre span, whilst journeys from end to end will take just 20 minutes.

The idea is that NEOM will be ready by 2030, although some have warned that it could take 20 years longer than that.