ESCALATION

Saudi Arabia to Relocate Students Studying in Canada

After Ottawa called for the release of women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia announced Monday that it would be suspending “training, scholarships and fellowships” in Canada and would transfer all Saudi students currently in Canada to other countries, al-Arabiya reports. This comes after Saudi Arabia gave Canadian Ambassador Dennis Horak 24 hours to leave the country after the Canadian foreign ministry tweeted about the treatment of activists and women’s rights supporters in the Middle Eastern nation. Saudia Arabia said its ambassador to Canada is leaving, and announced that it was freezing all trade between the two countries. “Any further step from the Canadian side in that direction will be considered as acknowledgment of our right to interfere in Canadian domestic affairs,” the Foreign Ministry said of the tweet. “Canada and all other nations need to know that they can't claim to be more concerned than the kingdom over its own citizens.”