“It is very unfortunate that the words ‘immediate release’ appeared in the Canadian statement ... it is unacceptable in relations between countries,” the ministry said.

#Statement | Throughout its long history, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has never accepted any interference in its domestic affairs by, or orders from any country. pic.twitter.com/sUrj7XIqTV

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) August 6, 2018

Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel Al Jubeir issued a short statement through a number of tweets, stating "the Kingdom does not interfere in the affairs of other countries and will not accept any attempts to interfere in its internal affairs and we will deal (with interference) with strong resolve". He went on to say in Arabic that the "surprising Canadian position is based on inaccurate information, the arrests are subject to our judicial systems that guarantee their rights".

“We cannot but stand with Saudi Arabia as it defends its sovereignty and its laws, and takes the necessary steps to do so. We cannot accept that our laws and standards be pressured or compromised," said Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Commenting on the spat, a US State Department Official told The National that both Saudi Arabia and Canada are “both close allies.” The official refrained from taking a position but said that the US has asked for more information on the detentions, and encouraged Riyadh “to respect due process.”

Bahrain said it supported Saudi Arabia’s decision, as did the Gulf Cooperation Council. A statement from the interior ministers of the League of Arab states declared it rejected interference in the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia .

A Bahrain foreign ministry statement said Canada’s criticism of Saudi Arabia was “based on totally erroneous information that has nothing to do with reality”.

The Saudi arrests come weeks after more than a dozen women’s-rights campaigners were detained and accused of undermining national security and collaborating with enemies of the state. Some have since been released.

A spokesman for the Human Rights Council in Saudi Arabia said the kingdom was among only 36 out of 197 countries that had submitted their annual human-rights report to the UN.

The Saudi action against Ottawa could further affect Canada’s economy after the United States imposed tariffs on imports of Canadian steel and aluminium in May.

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