Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I brought two Saudi citizens who are human rights activists to Leinster House. This woman and this man cannot go back to Saudi Arabia as they would be tortured and imprisoned if they did. That is what is happening over there. Expressing words of concern and making recommendations is meaningless. It is laughable. Saudi Arabia is on the UN Human Rights Council at the same time that it is refusing access to an all-party group to investigate the imprisonment and torture of women activists in Saudi prisons. Are we going to allow this to continue or are we going to do something? The Government must not hide behind the skirts of the EU. In fact, the EU Parliament has overwhelmingly passed a strong condemnation of what Saudi Arabia is doing. Germany has imposed an arms embargo while the British Government, which, let us be honest, is compromised in relation to Saudi Arabia, has at least made the request to send an all-party group. What is the Government going to do to show some commitment to addressing the foul human rights abuses being conducted by the Saudi regime?

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