Saudi Arabia Uncovered (Some Disturbing Footage)

WARNING: Some footage may be disturbing, viewer discretion is advised.



A shocking documentary to be broadcast on ITV is to uncover the brutality of life in Saudi Arabia, showing people hanged from cranes and a woman being beheaded in the street. Called Saudi Arabia Uncovered, the film raises yet more questions over the UK government's continued "special relationship" with the Saudi monarchy, laying bare the regime's atrocious human rights record.



In one scene five alleged robbers are strung up between two cranes, with young children rushing to view the lifeless bodies. Another clip shows a woman accused of murdering her stepdaughter being beheaded in the street with a sword as she screamed "I didn't do it".



The documentary also introduces viewers to a large public area in the Saudi capital Riyadh nicknamed Chop Chop Square, on account of its use for executions. So extensive is the number beheaded, a drainage system used to wash away the blood is shown permanently stained red.



Broadcast on Tuesday (March 22), those behind the documentary say their film "goes undercover to reveal the hidden reality inside one of the world's most secretive and strict Islamic regimes. They were given rare access to an underground network of young activists trying to voice their opposition to the Saudi monarchy's rule over six months.



The filmmakers say it shows an oil-rich Kingdom in "chaos",  with unrest in prisons, poverty on the streets, and religious police enforcing barbaric fundamentalism.