The arrests of 67 men in Riyadh on June 13, 2009, reportedly for wearing women’s clothing, violate basic human rights to privacy and freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today.

Saudi Arabia made important commitments on women's rights, on ending the juvenile death penalty and on other human rights issues during its review by the UN Human Rights Council on June 10, 2009 and should now work to carry out these reforms rapidly.

Human Rights Watch welcomes the UPR report on Saudi Arabia, which records Saudi Arabia's acknowledgment that human rights violations occur and its commitment to ending them.

Human Rights Watch writes to Minister of Justice Muhammad al-`Isa urging the release of Muhammad Burhan, an Eritrean national who was unlawfully arrested, wrongly convicted, and remains arbitrarily detained in Dhahban prison.

Serious human rights violations in Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Russia, and Saudi Arabia undermine their candidacies for the May 12, 2009 election to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a global coalition of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) said in a letter released today.

Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council should ensure that proposed labor protections for domestic workers adhere to international standards and recommend their prompt enactment, Human Rights Watch today. The Shura Council is planning to discuss the draft annex to the labor law next week and to make recommendations to the Saudi cabinet, which can enact the measure into law.