U.N. human rights boss urges Saudi Arabia to allow free speech, assembly

FILE PHOTO: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet attends a session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, February 27, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA (Reuters) - United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, in rare public comments on Saudi Arabia, said on Friday that people were "unjustly detained" in the kingdom and urged it to uphold freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

"I urge the authorities to also establish legislative frameworks to uphold the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association for everyone in the Kingdom," she told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.