“The Kingdom views the Canadian position as an affront … that requires a sharp response to prevent any party from attempting to meddle with Saudi sovereignty,” read the statement, adding that it retained the “right to take further action.”
The statement follows a series of tweets from the Canadian Foreign Ministry last week urging the Saudi authorities to “immediately release” civil rights activists.
According to Human Rights Watch, Badawi was arrested on August 1, as part of an “unprecedented government crackdown on the women’s rights movement that began on May 15, 2018 and has resulted in the arrest of more than a dozen activists.”
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama presented Badawi with the US’ International Women of Courage Award in 2012 for her advocacy work.
The statement released by the Saudi Foreign Ministry Sunday accused the Canadian government of “blatant interference in the Kingdom’s domestic affairs.”
“The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed disbelief by this negative unfounded comment, which was not based in any accurate or true information,” the statement read.
“It is quite unfortunate to see the phrase ‘immediate release’ in the Canadian statement, which is a reprehensible and unacceptable use of language between sovereign states.”
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said those arrested were “lawfully detained by the Public Prosecution for committing crimes punishable by applicable law, which also guaranteed the detainees’ rights and provided them with due process during the investigation and trial.”
The statement added that “the Kingdom will put on hold all new business and investment transactions with Canada.”
Source : Nbcnewyork