Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir stated on Monday that the Kingdom “does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states and it won’t accept any attempt to interfere in our internal affairs.”
He stressed that Saudi Arabia would not tolerate any interference in its own affairs.
“We deal with that with all firmness,” he declared.
Describing Canada’s position as puzzling, he said that those held in Saudi Arabia were “subject to Saudi legal laws that guarantees their rights”.
Late on Sunday, Saudi Arabia said it will suspend new trade and investment with Canada, giving the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave the country and recalling its own ambassador to Canada.
A Foreign Ministry statement said it “has been made aware of the statement by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Canadian Embassy in the Kingdom, on the so-called civil society activists who have been detained, urging Saudi authorities to release them immediately.”
The ministry said that “the Canadian position is an overt and blatant interference in the internal affairs of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
