Saudi Arabia Expels Canadian Ambassador Over Ottawa’s Demand To Free Jailed Activists

Saudi Arabia announced Monday the expulsion of Canada’s ambassador, the recalling of the kingdom’s envoy from Ottawa, and the suspension of all new trade and investment between the countries; this, in protest of the Trudeau government’s call for the immediate release of jailed rights activists. Riyadh has given the Canadian envoy 24 hours to leave the country, a surprising rupture of relations over what the Saudi foreign ministry described as “interference” in the nation’s internal affairs. Canada last week expressed “grave concern” over a new wave of arrests in the ultra-conservative kingdom, including the detention of award-winning gender rights activist Samar Badawi. While Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has implemented numerous reforms aimed at enhancing the role of women in Saudi society—foremost the lifting of a decades-long ban on female drivers—his actions have, paradoxically, been accompanied by what Human Rights Watch described as an “unprecedented government crackdown on the women’s rights movement.”