US Adds Saudi Arabia To List of States That Violate Religious Freedom

By Staff, Agencies

The United States designated Saudi Arabia as a state of “particular concern” due to violations of religious freedoms, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

Today the US designates Saudi Arabia as a country of concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for engaging systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations, Pompeo said on Twitter, stressing that religious freedom is a basic human right and that Washington has taken new steps to protect this basic right.

“The US is unwavering in its commitment to religious freedom. No country or entity should be allowed to persecute people with impunity because of their beliefs. These annual designations show that when religious freedom is attacked, we will act,” he claimed in a separate tweet.