Architecture studios involved in Neom should either campaign for the release of people imprisoned for protesting against the Saudi mega-project or walk away, says human rights campaigner Lina Alhathloul in this interview.
Speaking to Dezeen as part of a wider feature exploring whether architecture studios should reconsider their involvement in Neom, Alhathloul questioned the motives behind the multi-region development.
"It is a project that is definitely not a priority for the Saudi people, given the current state of existing cities in the country," ALQST head of monitoring and advocacy Alhathloul told Dezeen.
"It is steered by a one-man-rule policy that does not respect international standards and lacks any transparency," she continued. "In sum, it is built on the blood of Saudis, and migrant workers, for the benefit of western and international companies." "Architecture firms working on Neom cannot pretend anymore"
Neom is by far the biggest and most controversial of 14 giga-projects being developed as part of crown prince Mohammad bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to move Saudi Arabia's economy away from its reliance on oil.
The project has drawn criticism for reported human rights abuses, with ALQST reporting in 2022 that three men who were forcibly evicted from the Neom site had been sentenced to death. Last year the United Nations Human Rights Council "expressed alarm" over these imminent executions.
In an official respon...