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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 3d

Ronaldo’s billion-dollar Saudi deal isn’t just sport; it’s the crown jewel of Saudi sportswashing, polishing repression with goals and glamour.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Ronaldo Becomes First Football Billionaire With Big Saudi Contract

The Portuguese national is in the twilight of his playing career but his contract at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr has propelled him into a select group of the very wealthiest athletes

www.bloomberg.com

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 3d

“On Sept. 29, I performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. This decision has weighed heavily on my heart ever since,”
“I like to express my sincere regret for having performed under a government that continues to violate fundamental human rights.”
www.washingtonblade.com/2025/10/07/l...

Lesbian comedian who performed in Saudi Arabia apologizes

Jessica Kirson invited to participate in Riyadh Comedy Festival

www.washingtonblade.com

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 3d

Ashleigh Plumptre says she doesn’t “feel threatened at all” in Saudi Arabia, but Saudi women like Manahel have faced arrest for simply speaking up. Comfort isn’t the same as freedom.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/669...

Ashleigh Plumptre says life in Saudi Arabia ‘like a peace bubble’ but move from WSL ‘deeply hurt people’

"It does not mean I condone certain things, even if the move means I am associated with certain things," the Nigeria international said.

www.nytimes.com

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 4d

Burning Cash, Costly Image

Saudi Arabia has poured more than $5 billion into LIV Golf, but new filings reveal a league burning cash

huddleup.substack.com/p/liv-golf-v...

LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour: The Real Numbers Behind Golf’s Billion-Dollar Battle

Saudi Arabia has poured more than $5 billion into LIV Golf, but new filings reveal a league burning cash, cutting expenses, and surviving on one successful event.

huddleup.substack.com

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 4d

Amazon promised justice for migrant workers in Saudi warehouses, who paid huge recruitment fees; but years later many are still waiting on reimbursements.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

‘We want justice’: workers at Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia still waiting on financial redress

Asian migrant laborers who paid predatory recruiting fees say global mega-corporation has not kept its promise to pay them restitution

www.theguardian.com

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 4d

Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season dazzles with global sports stars, but behind the spectacle lies repression. While the world watches, dissenters stay silenced.

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing...

From Djokovic and Alcaraz to Tom Brady: Saudi Arabia's 2025 plans

Saudi Arabia is set to host some of the biggest names in world sport over the next year as Riyadh Season 2025 launches with a packed schedule.

www.dailymail.co.uk

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 5d

Saudi Arabia’s Useful Idiots: when comedians and celebrities trade integrity for paychecks, lending cover to a regime that jails dissent and censors speech.

www.thebulwark.com/p/saudi-arab...

Saudi Arabia’s Useful Idiots

Plus: ‘The Smashing Machine,’ Reviewed

www.thebulwark.com

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 5d

They execute people over a tweet, yet with the right paycheck, you’re expected to perform stand-up inside a Saudi prison.

www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 5d

Saudi Arabia isn’t just hosting jokes, it’s selling a new image, It’s a stage for rebranding the kingdom’s global image and masking a harsher reality and rights abuses remain unaddressed.

www.npr.org/2025/10/04/n...

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

In Sept 2025, Saudi Arabia carried out 13 executions, bringing the total this year to 283.

8 on drug charges (not among the “most serious” crimes under int’l law)
3 political charges
1 treason

Since King Salman’s reign began: 1,870 executions

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

Saudi’s PIF has poured billions into LIV Golf; yet the UK arm lost $461m in 2024 alone, pushing non-US losses past $1bn.
This isn’t a “golf revolution.” It’s a state-funded vanity project burning cash while Saudi people pay the price.

www.ft.com/content/d619...

LIV Golf’s UK losses widen to nearly $500mn

Saudi sovereign wealth fund to foot the bill as country shakes up sport

www.ft.com

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

10/ Saudi Arabia’s “green transition” is built on migrant labour. Without urgent reforms, renewable energy risks being stained by exploitation.

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

9/Report urges:
Employer Pays Principle (no fees for workers)
Binding supplier labour standards
Migrant-centred due diligence & grievance systems
Financiers to make support conditional on workers’ rights

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

8/Global complicity:
Named developers & financiers include ACWA Power, Aramco, Larsen & Toubro, PowerChina, Hitachi Energy, Thyssenkrupp, Air Products; plus banks like HSBC, Standard Chartered, JPMorgan, Mizuho, BNP Paribas

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

7/Forced labour indicators:

53% of workers showed 5+ indicators of forced labour
Not a few bad apples, this is systemic

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

6/Rights denied:

Only 2 workers could change jobs without employer permission (despite 2021 reforms)
11/34 faced retaliation for complaints
Protests often ended in dismissals or deportations

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

5/Health & safety:

18/20 reported unsafe working conditions
Main risks: extreme heat, infestations, lack of safety equipment

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

4/Wages & hours:

Avg. basic pay ≈ $370/month (no overtime)
19/20 reported unreasonable hours

50% said they worked 7 days/week “almost always or all the time”

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

3/Recruitment exploitation:

34/34 paid illegal recruitment fees (avg. >$1,600; range $500–$7,700)
0 reimbursed
20/34 borrowed money to migrate

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

2/Methodology:

34 migrant workers interviewed (31 Nepali, 3 Bangladeshi)

9 projects in focus (e.g. NEOM Green Hydrogen, Sudair Solar, Muwayh Solar)

Ages 22–45, mostly construction workers

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

1/🚨New
@BHRRC
report: “We were treated as if we were machines” documents widespread abuse of migrant workers powering Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy boom. Here are the key findings ⬇️

www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/b...

“We were treated as if we were machines”: Migrant workers powering Saudi Arabia’s energy transition - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

Check out this page via the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

www.business-humanrights.org

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 6d

US comedians defending their choice to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival as
“they’re paying me enough to look the other way”
feels like a sharp echo of art-washing.

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

US comedians defend decision to play in Saudi Arabia: ‘They’re paying me enough to look the other way’

Usual supporters of free speech are under fire for signing on to Riyadh comedy festival despite the government’s human rights abuses

www.theguardian.com

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 10d

A plea for Newcastle fans to help give Saudi women a voice from Elise Evans

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 10d

Ms Leah Remini Calls Out Saudi Arabian Regime in Wake of Riyadh Comedy Festival Backlash

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDBq...

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HRM @h-r-m.bsky.social · 12d

Critics call Riyadh Comedy Fest “comedy-washing.”

Maron: “From the folks that brought you 9/11…”

Gillis refused big $$: “You don’t 9/11 your friends.”

HRW: diversion from executions, censorship & Khashoggi’s murder.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/a...

Marc Maron and Other Comedians Rebuke Peers in Saudi Festival

www.nytimes.com

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