In a statement released through the Saudi Press Agency on Monday, Saudi Arabia gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave the kingdom, declaring him as a “persona non grata,” and froze all new trade deals with Ottawa. Saudi authorities also recalled its own ambassador to Canada, Nayif bin Bender es-Sedir, on the same day.
These statements came after Canada's Foreign Ministry criticized human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and urged Riyadh to “immediately release” detained activists.
Saudi authorities had detained Saudi-American civil right activist Samar Badawi, the sister of jailed blogger Raif Badawi, last Wednesday.
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland then shared a post on Twitter and urged the Saudi authorities to release civil rights activists on Thursday.
This was followed by The Canadian Department of Global Affairs calling for the immediate release" of the detainees, saying it was “gravely concerned.”
Raif Badawi was arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and later sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for criticizing clerics. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, is currently living in Canada.
Following Canada’s calls, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Canada's request to release the detainees was "interference in the Kingdom’s domestic affairs, against basic international norms and all international protocols” on Monday.
They also dubbed detained activists – Badawi siblings- as "so-called civil society activists."
Riyadh has stressed its internal affairs and in retaliation said, "Any further step from the Canadian side in that direction will be considered as acknowledgment of our right to interfere in the Canadian domestic affairs.”
"The Kingdom will put on hold all new business and investment transactions with Canada while retaining its right to take further action," the statement added.
