Repression rises in Bahrain, Saudi re-assess the rising costs of Neom
On Sunday 25th January, the appeal court in Bahrain adjourned the case of a political prisoner for one more week. Ali Naji Abu Ihsan, from the town of Dair, was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday 5th November 2025 in a house raid. He had been given 18 months prison sentence for his peaceful work. The latest detention happened after more than a year of targeting starting in September 2024. His house was repeatedly raided. His family lived in hell during these raids.
On his arrival at the airport, Jassim Abdul Nabi, from El Ekr town, was detained. He was returning home from Georgia after several years in exile. He stayed at several countries during his exile. His friends said he would face harsh realities in his home country as the regime continues to deny political activists the right for government housing and other social allowances.
The daily protest by a Bahraini citizen against his dismissal from a government job has continued. Mohammed Al Singace has held his daily protest demanding to be returned to his job, but to no avail. Now, scores of Bahrainis have followed him and are holding daily protests outside the ministry of Labour. But the regime forced them to stop their protests. They changed the location and they continue to gather near the sea, away from the public glare. Many of the unemployed have university degrees and other professional qualifications. But the regime’s labour policies have failed to provide opportunities for the qualified natives.
As the inflation rises in the country, many families are feeling the pinch, especially those whose breadwinners have been denied decent jobs. Many predict that major outbursts of anger (or even a revolution) will happen as hunger bites hard. The recent rises in electricity and water prices following the khalifi decision to end state subsidies of these amenities, have caused enormous hardship among the low-income families. As the holy month of Ramadan approaches, many families are extremely worried. With rising prices and low income, they anticipate hard times ahead as they seek to buy the necessary food items.
In the past few days at least four Saudi citizens were executed allegedly for drug trafficking. On Saturday 24th January, three were beheaded in Mecca for dealing in Amphetamine drugs. Nasser bin Suqair Al Salmi, Hassaan Al Salmi and Jamal bin Sa’ad Al Otaibi were convicted of the crime and condemned to death. On Sunday 25th January Salem bin Salim Al Huwaiti was also beheaded in Tabuk city on the same charge. Often, political revenge is the main motive for these executions.
Calls have been made for the Saudi authorities to release a broadcaster. Mohammed Al Sayed was detained last December and nothing has been heard of him since. He is the presenter of a TV programme titled: “The arms of brotherhood”. In his programme that started in 2013, Mr Al Sayed interviewed many thinkers, scholars and writers, some of whom are in jail like Salman Al Awdah and Ali Al Omari. Targeting journalists and writers is a central policy in the Saudi strategy.
Is it the end of the line? These are some of the headings of articles covering the Saudi biggest project for decades. Saudi Arabia is set to scale back its ambitious Neom megacity to something ‘far smaller’, as the kingdom’s ambitious project faces spiralling costs and mounting delays. Plans for the city including ‘The Line’ – which envisioned a parallel line of skyscrapers standing half a kilometre tall and 100 miles long – could be drastically reduced under the re-evaluation ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the day-to-day ruler of the kingdom. After becoming frustrated with delays and other plans being postponed or scrapped entirely, he ordered a review into Neom, with the project now likely to turn to more achievable goals such as AI data centres. The reassessment comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to manage tighter liquidity after years of heavy spending, with oil prices remaining subdued. Riyadh is also facing major financial commitments linked to preparations for hosting Expo 2030 and the football World Cup in 2034.
The Saudi authorities are furious at the British judicial system after a Saudi dissident was awarded a large sum in compensation. Ghanim Al Dowsari had his telephone illegally hacked by Saudi intelligence a few years ago. He took the case to the court which awarded him the right for compensation. The Saudis are furious that their opponents are winning the arguments as a result of their stupid policies. Two Bahraini citizens had their computers hacked by the Bahraini regime using FinFisher spyware. The UK’s High Court had ruled in their favour despite the regime’s attempt to use diplomatic immunity. The Saudi case has presented a precedent that could affect the Bahraini case.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
28th January 2026