Canada:Saudi Arabia has expelled Canada’s ambassador and frozen all trade and investment with Ottawa over an escalating dispute centered on jailed human rights activists.
The feud appears to have begun on Friday, when Global Affairs Canada tweeted that it was “gravely concerned” about a new wave of arrests of women’s rights activists in the Kingdom.
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“We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists,” the tweet said. The tweet was later shared on the Canadian Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s twitter page, which appears to have further stoked tensions.
The surge of arrests began on May 15 , and appear to target prominent women’s rights activists who previously campaigned to abolish the country’s driving ban against women.
Canada’s tweet referenced the most recent stream of arrests last week which included award-winning rights activist Samar Badawi, who is best known for challenging the country’s restrictive male guardianship laws, Human Rights Watch reported .
