King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s first year in power has seen the country’s human rights record deteriorate markedly, said Amnesty International on the eve of the first anniversary of his accession to the throne on 23 January 2015. Despite limited improvements in the field of women’s rights, the Saudi Arabian authorities have pursued a ruthless crackdown on all forms of dissent, increased their use of the death penalty and maintained practices that discriminate against the country’s Shi’a Muslim minority. The Kingdom’s military has also repeatedly violated the laws of war in its military campaign in Yemen.
