Saudi Arabia executes 81 people, the country's largest mass execution in modern history
Plus: Russians use cryptocurrencies in the UAE, Syrian fighters in Ukraine, British-Iranian women released, and much more.
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United Arab Emirates
According to Reuters' exclusive reporting, Crypto firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been overwhelmed with requests to liquidate billions of dollars of virtual currency as Russians seek a safe haven for their fortunes.
Some clients are using cryptocurrency to invest in real estate in the UAE, while others want to use firms there to turn their virtual money into hard currency and stash it elsewhere.
The UAE's refusal to take sides between Western allies and Moscow has signaled to Russians that their money is safe there.
A financial source in the UAE confirmed that Russians were buying property in Dubai, using crypto to get their money out of other jurisdictions and into the Gulf state.
Middle East fighters in Ukraine
Russia plans to send thousands of local fighters from the Middle East and weapons to join its forces in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said during a video call with the Security Council on Friday, March 11.
Tatiana Stanovaya, a political consultant and founder of R. Politik, told Bloomberg that the decision to call in Middle East mercenaries is a demonstrative signal that Russia isn't planning to step back.
Putin sent Russian forces in 2015 to intervene in Syria to prop up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. With the help of heavy Russian air bombardment, Syrian pro-government forces waged a brutal campaign to recapture rebel-held territory, including the country's commercial capital Aleppo.
The Guardian reported that Syria's military has begun recruiting troops from its own ranks to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, promising $3,000 a month – a sum up to 50 times a Syrian soldier's monthly salary. Enlistment notices have been posted on regime-linked websites recently, including profiles linked to the 4th Division, one of Bashar al-Assad's core units.
Saudi Arabia
According to the Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Arabia executed 81 men on Saturday, March 12, on charges including "allegiance to foreign terrorist organizations" and "deviant beliefs."
This is the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history. The number dwarfed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom in 2021 and the 27 in 2020.
Of the 81 people killed, 73 were Saudi citizens, seven were Yemeni, and one was a Syrian national.
All those executed were tried in Saudi courts, with trials overseen by 13 judges, held over three separate stages for each individual.
"The kingdom will continue to take a strict and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten stability," the news agency added.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet voiced her concern over the extremely broad definition of terrorism in Saudi legislation, including non-violent acts that supposedly "endanger national unity" or "undermine the State's reputation."
She also expressed concern that some of the executions appeared to be linked to Yemen's ongoing armed conflict between Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition, backing the internationally recognized Government forces.
Iran - United Kingdom
British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and dual national Anoosheh Ashoori arrived in Britain from Iran on Thursday, March 17, ending an ordeal, during which they became a bargaining chip in Iran's talks with the West over its nuclear program.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at a Tehran airport in April 2016 and later convicted by an Iranian court of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment.
Ashoori was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2019 for spying for Israel's Mossad and two years for "acquiring illegitimate wealth," according to Iran's judiciary.
Saudi Arabia – China
According to The Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabia is in active talks with Beijing to price some of its oil sales to China in yuan. Such a move would dent the U.S. dollar's dominance of the global petroleum market and mark another shift by the world's top crude exporter toward Asia.
The talks with China over yuan-priced oil contracts have been off and on for six years but have accelerated this year as the Saudis have grown increasingly unhappy with decades-old U.S. security commitments to defend the kingdom, the people said.
China buys more than 25% of the oil that Saudi Arabia exports. If priced in yuan, those sales would boost the standing of China's currency. The Saudis are also considering including yuan-denominated futures contracts, known as the "petroyuan," in the pricing model of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco.
Read the full reporting on The Wall Street Journal.
Lebanon
A group of 120 victims of the Beirut port blast sent a letter to the UN Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday, March 14, requesting a UN fact-finding mission to assist Lebanon's domestic investigation after it failed to progress, 19 months after the deadly incident that killed over 250 people and injured 7,000 on August 4, 2020.
Though the then-government promised to find those responsible within days, not one person has been charged in connection with the blast until now.
Read more on The New Arab.
Syria
Thousands of protesters in the rebel enclave of Idlib have marked 11 years since the start of Syria's anti-government uprising, buoyed up by the global outcry over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
More than 5,000 people gathered on the main square in the north-western city on Tuesday, March 15, in one of the largest rallies the region had seen in months. Many demonstrators hoped the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Syrian government's main backer, would rekindle interest in their cause.
Demonstrations across rebel-held northern Syria marked the anniversary of the March 15 uprising. After the 2011 uprising escalated into civil war, the power of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, had been held by a thread – until Vladimir Putin threw Russia's military might behind the dictator. Half a million people have died in the war, mainly in attacks by the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian allies.
That's all for this week. Thanks for reading Inshallah. Share this article and subscribe to be up to date about news from the Middle East every week. It's free.
About me
My name is Dario Sabaghi, a freelance journalist. I am interested in human rights and international news focusing on the MENA region.
Check out my work at dariosabaghi.com.
You can follow me on Twitter: @DarioSabaghi
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Cover photo: Amnesty International