Saudi Arabia has sentenced three men to death for refusing to leave their homes in order to make way for a futuristic £440billion megacity that is due to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.
The news comes in the same week Newcastle fans have celebrated the one-year anniversary of the club being taken over by the state-backed and state-owned Public Investment Fund.
The new megacity, Neom, was awarded the Asian Winter Games on Tuesday, with the venue not expected to be built until 2026. The award of the Games has already drawn fierce criticism from the likes of Greenpeace.
Trojena is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Neom project under the Saudi Kingdom's Vision 2030 development plan, which is aimed at reducing the nation's reliance on oil and transforming their economy, including by developing sport in the nation.
Bin Salam, Saudi's de facto ruler, chairs the Public Investment Fund, which owns Newcastle.
As reported by Middle East Eye, three members of the Howeitat tribe have been sentenced to death.
Shadli, Atallah, and Ibrahim al-Howeiti were arrested in 2020 for opposing the eviction of their tribe for the project.
They were handed death sentences on October 2 by Saudi Arabia's specialised criminal court.
Howeitat tribespeople have reported an escalation in authorities attempting to drive them from their land in order to make space for the project.
In August Abdulilah al-Howeiti and Abdullah Dukhail al-Howeiti were given prison terms of 50 years and 50-year travel bans after supporting their family's refusal to be evicted from Tabuk.
In addition, Salma al-Shehab and Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani were given sentences of 34 years and 45 years respectively after criticising the Saudi government on Twitter.
Osama Khaled received a sentence of 32 years over 'allegations relating to the right of free speech'.
Trojena, Neom city, is a planned mountain resort that is set to be ready by 2026.
The future tourist resort will include the Gulf's first-ever outdoor ski resort, a man-made freshwater lake, a nature reserve, and is expected to be powered by renewable energy.
The Asian Winter Games include events for skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey and figure skating with 47 events in total, which includes 28 on snow and ten on ice.
The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia holds an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle.
Since the takeover there have been significant changes at Newcastle, with Eddie Howe being appointed as manager, while there have been major big-money signings such as Alexander Isak and Sven Botman.
Newcastle, who are currently in seventh place in the Premier League, are expected to push on further in the near future as they look to challenge the established Big Six.
