Rabih Alenezi

Rabih Alenezi is a former intelligence officer^[1] and Saudi dissident colonel in the Saudi Arabian police force. Known for his vocal criticism of the Saudi Arabian government, particularly Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Alenezi has been living in exile in the United Kingdom.^[2][3] He has made significant contributions to the discourse on human rights in Saudi Arabia, particularly with respect to the Neom project, a planned megacity in the desert. His allegations of human rights violations and his personal experiences have brought international attention to the issue. Despite facing numerous threats, Col. Alenezi continues to speak out against oppression and advocate for human rights. According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds of migrants are said to have been shot dead on the border with Yemen on the orders of MBS. In a ZDF interview (Second German Television), Col. Rabih spoke of an order that has been carried out for three years: In 2020, a killing order came from Mohammed bin Salman himself. The order said to kill anyone who comes near the Saudi border, any person near the border was considered a terrorist to be neutralized immediately.^[4] On the British channel itv, Col. Rabih Alenezi appeared in the movie (Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia) and confirmed that he had received an order to use lethal force against any resistance from the Al-Huwaitat tribe. However, he pretended to be very ill and apologized for carrying out the mission for fear of being involved in human rights violations. Despite this, the mission proceeded and ended with the killing of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, who refused to evacuate his house for the NEOM LINE project.^[5]

Alenezi studied both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the UK.^[6] In addition to that, he worked with American police officers and studied security in Phoenix the capital city of Arizona in United States.^[7] He also served as a senior official in Saudi Arabia's security service for two decades. During his tenure, he claims he was ordered to commit human rights abuses.^[3]

Col. Alenezi defected from Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Public Security.^[2] He requested asylum in the UK after he claimed he had been ordered to commit human rights abuses.^[3] He announced his defection and began speaking out online.^[2]

Since his defection, Alenezi has received numerous death threats. He was receiving an average of 50 death threats a week.^[3] The Saudi royal court reportedly had a $250,000 (£200,000) bounty on his head, therefore, the British police advised him to adopt the lifestyle of Edward Snowden, the former US intelligence operative who is currently hiding in Russia.^[8] Col. Rabih Alenezi fears for his life and lives in hiding now.^[9]

Col. Alenezi, who carries a diplomatic passport, arrived in London in February 2023, but doesn’t feel safe. He feared he could be killed in the same way as Jamal Khashoggi, a vocal critic of the Saudi regime and Washington Post journalist, who was murdered inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul in 2018.^[10]

According to BBC, Col Alenezi is now based in the UK but still fears for his security. He says an intelligence officer told him that he would be offered $5M (£4M) if he attended a meeting at London's Saudi embassy with the Saudi interior minister but he refused.^[11]

Dr. Manisha Ganguly, the investigative reporter for The Guardian, stated on her official account on the X platform that Saudi government agents continue to offer rewards for Colonel Rabih's capture, despite the fact that he lives in exile in the United Kingdom, and she attached an advertising poster from a verified account named @whatsayeezy stating that "First person to geolocate this individual (Col. Rabih Alenezi) and where he rests his head at night gets $15,000,000 in clean crypto serious offer only" and he attached a photograph of Col. Rabih Alenezi^[12]

A former senior security and intelligence official, Rabih Alenezi, now seeking asylum in the UK after having a bounty put on his head for speaking out against Mr bin Salman, said the culture of fear rules under the de facto ruler. Col. Alenezi, who reached the top echelons of the country’s security establishment, said that the death penalty, often carried out by beheading with a sword or shooting, is a way to “intimidate people and terrorise society because Mohammed bin Salman knows that people hate him”, including ministers.“He does not believe that people will carry out his orders and accept his projects without fear,” he added.^[13]

Col. Alenezi has used his platform to speak out against Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He has gained a huge following online and lives on donations from his followers.^[3]

Colonel Rabih Alenezi blasted the NEOM proposal on the American Alhurra channel, arguing it is not a national project because the Saudi Crown Prince ignored Saudi residents' concerns.^[14] He made numerous allegations of human rights abuses he was asked to carry out, including the Saudi Interior Ministry's order to crack down on the Howeitat tribe in Tabuk province in 2020, Prince Mohammed's Location of pet project Neom, a planned megacity in the desert.^[3] He claimed that Saudi authorities authorized the use of lethal force to clear land for the Neom project.^[15]Speaking to Dezeen, Col Alenezi urged companies involved in the project to withdraw from it. "I think Neom firms should pull out of this contentious project immediately lest they be implicated in Saudi Arabian human rights abuses," he said. "I assume that all businesses consider the values of human rights. In Saudi Arabia, there are blatant violations of human rights and systematic oppression of civilians," he continued. "I would like to remind architects that housing is an inalienable human right and that it is not rational to demolish entire towns and force their inhabitants to flee in the name of a wild, impractical plan."^[16]

• Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti