9 May 2014 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan News, Bahrain, China, News and features, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
Made in Britain? Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) called for the immediate suspension of the use of excessive, indiscriminate and systematic use of tear gas against civilian protesters and densely populated Shia neighbourhoods in Bahrain (Image: Iman Redha/Demotix)
The Arab Spring has not stopped Britain from helping crush free expression and freedom of assembly by selling crowd control gear to authoritarian states including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Analysis of newly-published data on export licences approved by the UK government have revealed ministers backed over £4 million of tear gas, crowd control ammunition and CS hand grenade sales over the last two years to Saudi Arabia – one of the most repressive states in the world.
The British government also allowed crowd control ammunition to be sold to Malaysia and Oman, as well as tear gas to Hong Kong and Thailand.
It gave the green light to anti-riot and ballistic shields to four authoritarian regimes listed by the Economist Democratic Index: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Azerbaijan, as well as Saudi Arabia.
Its only refusal for an export licence in 2013 for equipment which could be used to suppress internal dissent was for an order of CS hand grenades and ‘tear gas/irritant ammunition’ to Turkey.
A lack of transparency across the secretive arms sector makes it difficult to establish which companies are providing the arms – or how the country in question intends to use them.
But the Geneva Convention forbids the military use of all gas weapons, meaning the UK government would have assumed the tear gas was for use against civilian protesters.
Brief explanatory notes included in the export licences data suggest all those mentioned above are primarily for use against domestic populations.
The notes typically state the licence is granted “for armed forces end use” or “for testing and evaluation by a government / military end user”.
The only exception is the note for a sizeable order of anti-protest equipment for Brazil, which makes clear the export licence is granted for “armed forces end users not involved in crowd control / public security”.
Further evidence has emerged that Britain’s leading arms firm, BAE, has signed a £360 million contract with an unnamed Middle Eastern country for the upgrade of armoured personnel carriers whose primary use is against protesters.
Industry insiders believe the improvements are being made in Saudi Arabia to a stockpile of the vehicles left in the country by the United States military.
BAE’s chairman Sir Roger Carr said contractual commitments prevented him from commenting at the defence giant’s annual general meeting in Farnborough yesterday.
He faced heckling and hissing from vocal critics in the audience who had infiltrated the two-hour question-and-answer session, but insisted BAE was “helping to preserve world peace” and that the company “are not undermining the broader international rules” of the arms trade.
Speaking afterwards, however, a member of BAE’s board suggested the “natural place for these decisions is with government” rather than the company.
“I’m not abrogating our moral responsibility,” he said, “but it’s right that the burden of these difficult decisions is on the government because, in the UK at least, this is an elected democracy.”
Britain’s parliament, at least, has proved reluctant to provide a critical voice on the UK’s arms trade.
Opponents had alleged Saudi Arabian troops which intervened to crush the Arab Spring in Bahrain had received British military training. A recent report from MPs accepted the Foreign Office’s rejection of British complicity, with ministers arguing none of the training had taken place “in a repressive way”.
The Commons’ foreign affairs committee did, however, call on the government to “adhere strictly to its existing policy to ensure that defence equipment sold by UK firms are not used for human rights abuses or internal repression”.
Its request for the government to provide further evidence that it is doing so in practice did not meet with a positive response.
Officials said the risk that export licence criteria might be broken is “factored into” the original decision to grant the licence.
The Foreign Office stated: “There are rigorous pre-licence checks and, for open licences, compliance audits at the exporters’ premises in the UK. We will continue to scrutinise carefully all arms sales to Saudi Arabia.”
Many believe the current export licence regime is not fit for purpose, however. In 2013 the UK approved military licences to a total of 31 authoritarian regimes including Russia, China, Qatar and Kuwait.
“BAE couldn’t sell the weapons they do to these countries without the support of the UK government,” Andrew Smith of the Campaign Against The Arms Trade said.
“The UK government can stop any of these exports at any time but is choosing not to because it’s putting arms company profits ahead of human rights.”
He suggested the government’s decision to exclude Bahrain from its list of ‘countries of concern’ on human rights was “politically motivated”.
And he warned arms sales went beyond small-scale arms and ammunition to include much bigger purchases like fighter jets.
“The reason the Saudis buy from Britain is not just because Britain is willing to sell arms,” Smith added, “but also because it comes with political support and the endorsement and silence of the British government.”
This article was posted on May 9, 2014 at indexoncensorship.org
12 Sep 2025 | Africa, Belgium, Europe and Central Asia, Kenya, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
Bombarded with news from all angles every day, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at the release of political prisoners in Belarus and the cancellation of a concert in Ghent.
Belarus releases 52 political prisoners after easing of US sanctions
A number of political prisoners held in Belarusian jails have been released from custody and taken over the border to Lithuania following a visit from a US delegation and the easing of sanctions on national airline Belavia.
The easing of sanctions is set to allow Belavia to purchase American manufactured parts for its aircraft, something that critics claim opens doors for Russia to bypass sanctions.
Opposition activist and politician Mikola Statkevich reportedly refused to leave Belarus, spending a few hours in the border area between the two countries before being brought back into Belarus by border guards.
Among the released prisoners were Belsat journalists Larysa Shchyrakova and Yauhen Merkis who both wrote for Index in 2021 about the persecution they faced a the hands of hte government.
Opposition leaders claim that some of the prisoners had almost finished serving their sentences, and have now been left exiled with no way to return to home.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, exiled leader of the opposition, said in a post on X: “Freed political prisoners must have the right to remain in Belarus, not be forcibly deported. Many were released only weeks or months before their unjust prison terms ended. Forcing them out is not freedom – it’s another crime by the regime.”
Kenyan documentary filmmakers have spyware installed on their devices while in police custody
Arrested Kenyan filmmakers have discovered – with the help of forensic analysis by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab – that spyware was installed onto their devices while they were in custody.
Mark Denver Karubiu, Bryan Adagala, Nicholas Wambugu, and Christopher Wamae were all arrested following the release of the BBC documentary Blood Parliament. They were accused of working on the documentary, charges both the BBC and the filmmakers deny.
A statement from the BBC Press Office said: “We have been made aware of the arrest of four journalists in Kenya. To confirm, they were not involved in any way in the making of BBC Africa Eye’s Blood Parliament documentary,”
The filmmakers were taken into custody in Nairobi on 2 May 2025 and had their devices seized. They were released on 3 May however their devices were not returned until 10 July. It is during this time that the police are accused of installing FlexiSPY software.
FlexiSPY describes itself as “the world’s most powerful monitoring software for computers, mobile phones and tablets”
The filmmakers face a court hearing on 15 September. They are accused of publishing false information and cyber-bullying.
Flanders festival Ghent cancels show amid uncertainty around conductor’s stance on Israel
In a move condemned by Belgian and German officials a performance by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra has been cancelled by the Flanders Festival Ghent.
The cancellation of the show is due to concerns from the organisers regarding the stance towards the Netanyahu government of the Israeli conductor of the orchestra Lahav Shani who was to lead the performance. Shani is also the music director for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever posted on X: “This decision has rightfully provoked great consternation and has been characterised as antisemitic.
“Equally troubling is the unprecedented requirement that artists provide written statements of their political views. This runs directly counter to the very essence of artistic freedom.”
A statement from the festival said: “Lahav Shani has spoken out in favour of peace and reconciliation several times in the past, but in the light of his role as the chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, we are unable to provide sufficient clarity about his attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv. In line with the call from the Minister of Culture, the city council of Ghent and the cultural sector in Ghent, we have chosen to refrain from collaboration with partners who have not distanced themselves unequivocally from that regime.”
The festival will be going ahead without this concert, with shows running from 12 September until 2 October.
Saudi citizen executed for protests when he was a teen
A Saudi man Jalal Labbad was executed on 21 August 2025 for his involvement in protests that took place in 2011 and 2012, when he was 15 years old.
Labbad was arrested in 2017 and went on trial in 2019 accused of participating in a demonstration, attending funerals of victims shot by government forces, and helping to treat and shelter wanted persons who were wounded while attacking soldiers. In 2020 he was sentenced to death.
Saudi Arabia executed a total of 180 people between January and June 2025.
A statement released by UN human rights experts said; “We are dismayed by the execution of Mr. Jalal al-Labbad on 21 August, despite our grave concerns repeatedly communicated to the authorities. It is particularly disturbing that his family was not informed of the execution date and reportedly learned of his death through social media. We call on authorities to immediately return Mr. al-Labbad’s body to his relatives and permit an independent medico-legal examination.”
Turkish reporter faces up to 15 years in prison
Freelance court reporter Furkan Karabay faces 6 to 15 years in prison following his arrest in May relating to posts on X and YouTube.
Karabay is facing charges of “insulting the President,” “repeatedly targeting individuals who served in the fight against terrorism,” and “insulting a public official because of their duty,” based on social media posts..
The journalist has faced arrest on a number of occasions for similar charges based on his reporting, but was acquitted back in 2024.
This follows a concerning trend in Turkey, where a number of journalists have been detained this year alone.
The global police organisation went beyond its remit in pursuing Saudi Arabian journalist Hamza Kashgari, says Denis MacShane MP. Now we must ensure the kingdom’s authorities respect free speech