Saudi Arabia is home to over 34 million Saudis, 85–90 percent of whom are Sunni Muslims and 10–15 percent of whom are Shi’a Muslims. The United Nations (UN) estimates that 37 percent of the population are expatriates, including at least two million Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, practitioners of folk religions, and the unaffiliated. Non-Muslim or atheist citizens often hide their identity to avoid harsh social and official consequences. The ruling monarch, King Salman bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud, holds the title “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has systematically cracked down on both religious and political dissent despite overseeing economic reforms associated with Saudi Vision 2030. Positive Developments In January, Muslim World League Chair Mohammed Al Isa visited the Auschwitz concentration camp, leading one of the most senior delegations of Muslim officials to visit the site. In February, a delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations visited Saudi Arabia to meet with Al Isa, the first visit by an American Jewish organization since 1993. That same month, an interfaith delegation including Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu leaders as well as an Israeli rabbi met with King Salman. In 2020, Saudi Arabia also relaxed restrictions on the sale of Christmas trees and Christmas decorations in the capital, Riyadh. In April, the government announced its intent to abolish flogging, a punishment often used against religious prisoners of conscience. In August, the Saudi Human Rights Commission announced the Kingdom would review the death sentences of Shi’a prisoners who were minors when charged. While Saudi Arabia converted three such sentences to 10 years in prison by February 2021, eight such prisoners still remained at risk of receiving a death sentence. Mistreatment of Religious Minorities Shi’a Muslims in Saudi Arabia continued to face discrimination in education, employment, and the judiciary, and they lack access to senior positions in the government and military. The building of Shi’a mosques continued to be restricted outside majority-Shi’a Muslim areas in the Eastern Province, and authorities often prohibited the use of the Shi’a Muslim call to prayer in these areas. In March 2020, the government locked down the majority-Shi’a Qatif Province, preventing entry and exit. No other province was subject to these restrictions. Eight Bohra Shi’a in Riyadh were arrested in 2017 and 2018 after collecting funds for the community to participate in the hajj pilgrimage. Two were released in early 2020, but one was rearrested in the summer and the other cannot access his passport. Two of the Bohra Shi’a men in prison suffer health conditions that put them at elevated risk for COVID-19. Religious Incitement in Textbooks For more than 15 years, USCIRF has documented the government’s failure to address intolerant content in official textbooks sufficiently. A December 2020 nongovernmental organization report found that while “extremism persists” in Saudi textbooks, “many problematic examples” of religious intolerance “had been removed” from the most current versions. These include passages urging the death penalty for gay men. However, textbooks still teach that “infidels will be punished on Resurrection Day,” warn against “polytheists” (a reference to Shi’a Muslims), and include a story describing “Jewish wrongdoers” as “monkeys.” Religious Prisoners of Conscience Dissident Sheikh Salman al-Ouda remained in prison in 2020 despite a January letter from three UN Special Rapporteurs noting that his detention may violate international laws concerning freedom of religion and belief. Al-Ouda has been denied family visits and was not allowed to call his family for a period in early summer 2020. Following a secret hearing at the Specialized Criminal Court in November, al-Ouda’s son reported that he lost half his hearing and eyesight. USCIRF Religious Prisoner of Conscience Raif Badawi and his lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair faced worsening treatment in 2020. Al-Khair was hospitalized in January following a hunger strike to protest mistreatment. He remained on strike until February 2020. Raif Badawi was sentenced in 2013 on charges of “insulting Islam” and sentenced to 600 lashes and seven years in prison over the content of posts on his blog. In 2020, he was hospitalized following a hunger strike in protest of being put in solitary confinement and was not permitted to speak with his wife. In May, he was moved out of solitary confinement into a prison cell with 15 other inmates. In August, Badawi’s wife reported that one of the inmates tried to assassinate him. Saudi Arabia also continued to detain and mistreat Loujain al-Hathloul, who peacefully protested religious guardianship laws. Al-Hathloul’s health deteriorated considerably during a hunger strike protesting prison mistreatment. In November, Saudi Arabia referred her case to the Specialized Criminal Court, which deals with terrorism and national security cases. In December, following a series of hearings, al-Hathloul was sentenced alongside Mayaa al-Zahrani to a backdated sentence of five years and three months and a five-year travel ban. Al-Hathloul was released in February 2021 but remains under a five-year travel ban. Key U.S. Policy In 2020, the Trump administration continued to coordinate with highlevel Saudi officials while Congress pursued a more critical approach. On January 7, then President Donald J. Trump met with Vice Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman. On February 12, then Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met with Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan. Later that month, then Secretary of State Pompeo travelled to Saudi Arabia for meetings with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On January 28, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) called for the Trump administration to impose visa restrictions on officials involved in the detention and abuse of Loujain al-Hathloul. In September, five senators sponsored a bill calling for the release of Saudi women dissidents, including those persecuted for peacefully advocating for freedom of religion or belief. In November, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) coordinated a bipartisan letter to the Saudi ambassador calling for their release. On December 2, the State Department redesignated Saudi Arabia as a CPC under IRFA, but again issued a waiver on any related sanctions on the country “as required in the ‘important national interest of the United States.’” U S C I R F – R E C O M M E N D E D F O R C O U N T R I E S O F PA R T I C U L A R C O N C E R N ( C P C ) 41 SAUDI ARABIA Background