'Bargaining Tools': Saudi Speeds Up Trials Before Biden Era
By Anuj Chopra
01/06/21 AT 10:08 PM
Saudi Arabia is accelerating trials of so-called dissidents, including a high-profile Saudi-American doctor, who fear becoming bargaining tools in a potential early showdown with Joe Biden's incoming administration.
The US president-elect has pledged to make the kingdom a "pariah" over its human rights failings after it largely got a free pass under President Donald Trump.
The trials, following a years-long crackdown on dissent, potentially put Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a collision course with Biden, who has also vowed to suspend US arms sales to the kingdom over its catastrophic five-year war in neighbouring Yemen.