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Canada-based Saudi says authorities threaten to arrest his family

August 8, 2018 at 10:01 am

A Saudi dissident who was granted political asylum by Canada said Saudi authorities have threatened to arrest his family if he does not stop writing about the Kingdom’s conflict with Canad.

“Breaking: The Saudi authorities threatened to arrest my brothers and friends if I keep tweeting about the Saudi-Canadian crisis!” Omar Abdulaziz wrote on Twitter.

On Monday, Saudi recalled its ambassador to Canada and expelled the Canadian ambassador over what it called Canada’s “blatant interference in the country’s internal affairs”.

The Saudi Ministry of Education has also suspended all scholarship, training and fellowship programs to Canada saying it was preparing an urgent plan to transfer all Saudi students to other countries.

The Saudi decision came in response to a statement issued by the Canadian Foreign Ministry in which it said that Canada was deeply concerned about the arrest of rights activists in the Kingdom, including Samar Badawi, the sister of detained activist, Raif Badawi.

The statement urged Saudi Arabia to immediately release them and all other human rights activists.

READ: Canada to ask allies to help cool Saudi dispute; US offers no aid