NEOM evictions and death sentences
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
UN human rights experts raised alarm in May 2023 over death sentences against tribal members who resisted eviction for NEOM in Saudi Arabia. In May 2026 Semafor reported that work on The Line was halted until after 2030 and the population target cut.
As reported by Semafor, May 2026.
Status As of May 2026: sentences status not established in the sources collected; Semafor reported work on The Line halted until after 2030.
- Tribal members who resisted eviction — Sentenced to death, as reported by Dezeen citing UN experts. Dezeen
What happened
In May 2023 Dezeen reported that UN human rights experts had raised alarm over executions linked to NEOM, the Saudi Arabian project. The sentences, as the record describes them, were handed to tribal members who resisted eviction to make way for the project.
In May 2026 Semafor reported that Saudi Arabia had halted work on The Line, NEOM's central element, until after 2030, and that the population target had fallen from 1.5 million people to at most 100,000.
- 2023May: UN human rights experts raise alarm over executions linked to NEOM (Dezeen)
- 2026May: Semafor reports work on The Line halted until after 2030; population target cut from 1.5 million to at most 100,000
How it looked
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- Outcome not on recordDeath sentences against people who resisted NEOM-related evictionNot specified in the sources collected · Criminal · Saudi state (prosecution; not specified) → Tribal members who resisted eviction (number and names not stated in the sources collected)
Dezeen reported in May 2023 that UN human rights experts raised alarm over executions linked to NEOM, referring to death sentences for those who resisted eviction. Dezeen
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Court
- Unclear Death sentences against people who resisted NEOM-related eviction: outcome not on record.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: ALQST reported that the Huwaitat tribe was evicted for NEOM and that death sentences against three men who resisted the project were upheld; a BBC report in 2024 carried a statement by a colonel, which the BBC could not verify.
- None on record The number of people sentenced, their names and the current status of the sentences are not stated in the sources collected.
Did the harm stop?
The sources collected do not state whether the sentences were carried out or withdrawn.
Who paid?
People who resisted eviction for the project and were sentenced to death, according to the UN experts' alarm reported by Dezeen.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Saudis' NEOM halts work on The Line until after 2030Semafor · 2026-05-22
Communities and civil society
International bodies
- UN human rights experts alarm over executions linked to NeomDezeen · 2023-05-05
Connected cases
- Saudi wheat cut and 2018 fodder ban; Almarai's alfalfa farms in Arizona Saudi Arabia · 1980
- Government of Saudi Arabia (Government) — here: State authority; there: Wheat and green fodder policy