"...Thousands of Saudis arrested & detained or ...killed in uncertain circumstances...”

For some 'reason' the grace period that the Saudis enjoyed in the US (Officialdom + media) has come to an end! You can almost smell it down here in ...Beirut!

In the NYTimes, here

"The human rights group Amnesty International accused Saudi Arabia on Wednesday of using its campaign against terrorism as a facade for “a sustained assault on human rights” and said the rest of the world had failed to hold the authorities to account for “gross violations.”

Its report said thousands of people had been arrested and detained in virtual secrecy “while others have been killed in uncertain circumstances.” It accused the Saudi authorities of using torture to extract confessions and of using their “powerful international clout to get away with it.”.........

Abdulrahman Alhadlaq, a Saudi Interior Ministry official, told The Associated Press that Amnesty International’s assertions were “claims that have to be proven.”
“Our policies on human rights are very clear and the orders given are for prisoners to be treated with respect and according to international human rights principles,” he said, according to The A.P......

The detainees include “prisoners of conscience, targeted for their peaceful criticism of government policies” but “the majority are suspected supporters of Islamist groups or factions opposed to the Saudi Arabian government’s close links to the United States and other Western countries,” the report said. .."