Crossroads in Saudi: New second in line may give clues to future of rights

Saudi Arabia’s new Crown Prince Muqrin — seen as a relative progressive in the ruling family, with a grasp on the need for long-term reform — represents the biggest break from the kingdom’s tradition of any of his predecessors in the role. Saudis say that the 69-year-old prince, who attended a Western university was trained as a military pilot, is an accomplished musician who plays the lute and enjoys astronomy. He’s also been described as “open minded,” though he offers hawkish views, especially towards Iran.

Muqrin is not as conservative (as Salman), but we will see how much of a role he will play in the new reign. According to Saudi law, the crown prince cannot do more than what he is assigned by the king.

Khalid al-Dakheel, political science professor in Saudi Arabia

While the world’s powerful mourn the deceased Saudi King Abdullah, human rights observers are urging the world to remember some of the human rights violations, including the impending punishment on blogger Raef Badawi. But the problem, the leader of Amnesty International alleges, is that Western leaders, hooked on Saudi oil, turned a blind eye to a swathe of human rights violations in the kingdom.

The Saudi regime seems insensitive to human rights and human dignity and unfortunately they are also protected by many western countries because they have oil and because they are seen as allies in the fight against terrorism.

Salil Shetty, Amnesty International leader

Middle East Saudi Arabia