Since October 7, 2023, our strongest ally in the Middle East, Israel, has withstood various terrorist attacks from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and others. Instead of standing by Jerusalem, the Biden-Harris...
NOTICIAS
Últimas Noticias
Rubio: “The Court is Right: Algorithms Should Not Enjoy Section 230 Protections”
TikTok was recently sued after a 10-year-old girl died from taking part in a viral challenge that dared users on the app to choke themselves until they passed out. Courts have historically protected social media companies over user-generated content due to...
Rubio, Moolenaar Demand Communist China-linked Battery Company Be Blacklisted
Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) is an electric vehicle battery company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Reliance on, and use of, CATL batteries threatens U.S. national security as it...
Rubio: Communist China Making a Mockery of Biden-Harris Administration
Despite the serious threats the Chinese Communist Party poses to the United States and our allies, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is in the midst of a three day visit with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in another embarrassing attempt to “lower tensions”...
Rubio Calls on John Deere to Prioritize American Workers
John Deere, the world’s largest tractor manufacturer, is a staple of American business and a crucial supplier for the hard working Americans who grow our food. Recently, after receiving public backlash, John Deere ended several ridiculous Diversity, Equity, and...
Rubio Y Colegas: Esto No Se Trata de Ideología Política, Se Trata de Defender la Voluntad del Pueblo Venezolano
Hace casi un mes, el pueblo venezolano votó por Edmundo González Urrutia como su presidente electo. Ayer, el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia del narco-régimen de Maduro optó por legitimar el fraude electoral de la dictadura. Los senadores estadounidenses Marco Rubio...
Rubio, Cardin, Colleagues Urge Secretary Pompeo to Push For Release of Saudi Women’s Rights Activists
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) and U.S. Representatives Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Ann Wagner (R-MO) today led a bicameral group in urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo through a bipartisan letter to press the Saudi government, both publicly and privately, to respect the fundamental human rights and freedoms of all Saudi citizens, and to immediately release the women’s rights activists. Saudi Arabia’s ongoing human rights abuses, particularly against women, continue to threaten the critical and historical partnership between Washington and Riyadh.
Other cosigners include: U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ed Markey (D-MA), Todd Young (R-IN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Chris Coons (D-DE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and U.S. Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Andy Levin (D-MI), Susan Wild (D-PA), David Trone (D-MD), Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA).
Rubio is Chairman and Cardin is Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues.
El full text of the letter .
Dear Mr. Secretary:
We write to express our concern regarding the ongoing detention and alleged mistreatment of women’s rights defenders wrongfully imprisoned in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are deeply troubled by reports that some of the activists have been subjected to torture and abuse while in custody. In keeping with the Administration’s stated priorities of upholding U.S. values and protecting national security, we urge you to publicly and privately press Saudi Arabia’s senior government officials to respect the fundamental human rights and freedoms of all Saudi citizens and to immediately release the women’s rights activists.
Saudi Arabia has consistently been categorized by Freedom House and other human rights organizations as one of the worst violators of political rights and civil liberties, particularly for women. The most blatant recent example of this was the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018. However, in May 2018, Saudi officials rounded up and arrested Saudi women’s rights activists on charges such as acting as agents of hostile foreign powers and undermining the security of Saudi Arabia. The crackdown continued in April 2019, when individuals with ties to currently jailed women activists and those supportive of social reforms were arrested. The crimes of these women and men were nothing more than exercising their fundamental right to peacefully protest their government’s repressive policies on issues pertaining to the right to drive, the male guardianship system, and the right to participate in elections. Many of those detained have yet to be indicted and there have been reports of some of the women being tortured by senior Saudi officials, including beatings, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, waterboarding, sexual harassment, sexual violence, and threats of murder.
The strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia is in our national security interest. However, the government of Saudi Arabia’s continued human rights abuses risk threatening that partnership and our critical work to confront many regional challenges. Therefore, we urge you to raise, both publicly and privately, the issue of the Saudi women’s rights activists and urge for their immediate and unconditional release at the highest levels of the Saudi government until they are all free.
We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to working with you to advance human rights in Saudi Arabia and ensure a more cooperative bilateral relationship.
Atentamente,