When world leaders gather virtually for the Group of 20 summit this weekend, they’ll do so despite a monthslong campaign from activists urging participants to boycott the annual event or risk sidelining calls to address Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record.  

For Saudi Arabia, the first Arab country to ever host the annual meeting of the world’s largest economies, the G-20 is an opportunity to showcase recent social and economic reforms. For human rights campaigners, it's a venue for attempted image-laundering. 

“We see this as, quite frankly, another opportunity that they’re trying to use to legitimize their rule,” said Bethany Alhaidari, executive director at the Saudi American Justice Project.  

A coalition of international and Saudi exile groups have sought to highlight the repression they say has escalated under crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. The organizations, along with family members of those killed or imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, have banded together to launch online petitions, virtual events and letter-writing campaigns geared at making human rights a part of the G-20 conversation.