The High Cost of Change in Saudi Arabia: Daily Brief

The high cost of change in Saudi Arabia; bride trafficking to China spreads across Asia; arrests for voicing protest solidarity in Iraq; Uganda's security forces attack protesting students; Hungarian abuses of EU agriculture subsidies; HIV patients don't receive treatment in United Arab Emirates prison; United Nations rights review of Kazakhstan; and the docuseries Why We Hate wins HRW prize. 

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Social reforms enacted under Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have been accompanied by deepening repression and abusive practices meant to silence dissidents and critics.

Since Human Rights Watch began researching trafficking to China more than three years ago, reports have indicated that it is also occurring in additional Asian countries and that their number is growing. 

Since October 25,  2019, the authorities throughout Iraq have detained hundreds of protesters at or after demonstrations. In the Anbar governorate, they have arrested two men for merely posting messages of solidarity on Facebook.

The Ugandan police and military have cracked down on student protests, using excessive violence and detaining dozens for days without charge.

Billions of agriculture subsidies from the European Union are actually financing corrupt dealing and leading to a "modern twist on a feudal system,"  the New York Times reports.

Prison authorities in the United Arab Emirates are denying essential treatment to HIV-positive detainees.

Kazakhstan will undergo a review of its rights record at the United Nations. This is an opportunity to hold the new president to his pledges...

And the Discovery Channel docuseries Why We Hate will receive our annual Promise Award.

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