HRW Criticizes Saudi Arabia for Using Comedy Festival to Mask Rights Abuses

HRW Criticizes Saudi Arabia for Using Comedy Festival to Mask Rights Abuses
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Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Saudi authorities of using major entertainment events, including the Riyadh Comedy Festival 2025, to distract from what it describes as ongoing and severe human rights violations. The festival, scheduled from September 26 to October 9, coincides with the seventh anniversary of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

In a statement, HRW said the event comes amid heightened repression, including the recent execution of a Saudi journalist over public remarks. The organization urged participating comedians—among them international figures such as Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Carr, Bill Burr, and Maz Jobrani—to publicly call for the release of detained activists, journalists, and dissidents, including Waleed Abu al-Khair, serving a 15-year sentence, and Manahel al-Otaibi, sentenced to five years.

HRW researcher Joey Shea argued that celebrating Khashoggi’s anniversary with entertainment undermines its gravity and called on artists benefiting financially from Saudi contracts to speak up about restrictions on free expression.

Media reports also noted the cancellation of comedian Tim Dillon’s performance after his satirical remarks on human rights and migrant labor conditions, despite being offered $375,000 for a single show. HRW maintains that such festivals are part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan but coincide with continued arbitrary arrests, executions, and suppression of dissent.