WikiLeaks on Friday began publishing more than half a million top-secret documents from Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry, including communications from Saudi embassies across the globe, information from other state institutions, and correspondence with foreign entities.
While analysts have not yet pored through the documents, the files are poised to expose the Saudi government, whose atrocious human rights record is being put on display with its ongoing bombing and blockade of Yemen. They could also shed light on the relationships between Saudi Arabia and its close allies throughout the region and world, including the United States.
WikiLeaks said that the massive trove of cables will be published in bunches of tens of thousands over the next few weeks. As of Friday, at least 61,205 documents had been published, with more troves expected in coming days. The cables are being hosted on an online database and can be searched here.
“The Saudi Cables lift the lid on a increasingly erratic and secretive dictatorship that has not only celebrated its 100th beheading this year, but which has also become a menace to its neighbors and itself,” said Julian Assange of WikiLeaks in a press statement.
As for where the files came from, the famed publisher of government and corporate secrets said: