The Guardian view on Saudi Arabia and the west: don’t count on Riyadh | Editorial

The Guardian view on Saudi Arabia and the west: don’t count on Riyadh | Editorial

Five years ago, Jeremy Hunt, then foreign secretary, echoed the widely voiced horror at the murder of the Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey. He promised that Britain’s response would depend upon “our confidence that such an appalling episode cannot – and will not – be repeated”.

The UK has now invited Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, whom the CIA believe approved the murder despite his denials, for an official visit. His rehabilitation was already under way when Joe Biden fistbumped him a year ago, and Britain, which has profited richly from Saudi arms sales, is hungrier than ever for trade and investment.

Riyadh has spent heavily on influence operations and brand management, investing in sportswashing and entertainment. It has apparently used the US messaging app Snapchat to burnish the future king’s image, as the Guardian reported this week, while imposing draconian sentences on influencers who use social media to post any criticism of the future king, including a Leeds PhD student, Salma al-Shehab. The kingdom’s human rights record was hardly stainless, but the rate of executions has almost doubled under Prince Mohammed.