Welcoming MBS Undercuts U.S. Values and Security, Human Rights First Warns

Washington D.C.— On the occasion of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s (MBS) November 18-19 visit to Washington, Human Rights First deplores the White House decision to offer red carpet treatment to a leader responsible for the 2018 torture and murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and for sustained repression in Saudi Arabia. 

Human Rights First President and CEO Uzra Zeya noted, “No amount of White House pomp or glitz can erase MBS’s culpability in the premeditated torture, killing, and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, one of the most brazen acts of transnational repression in recent memory.  Seven years later, MBS continues to brook no criticism at home, as U.S. and Saudi nationals have faced severe punishment and lengthy prison sentences for innocuous social media posts and rights advocacy. Last August, the Saudi government executed a young man, Jalal Labbad, for advocating for the religious freedom of Saudi Shi’as, part of a pattern of escalating executions and oppression of religious minorities that continues under MBS.”  

Zeya concluded, “The volatility and brutality of MBS’s rule extending in Saudi Arabia and beyond contradicts the very notion of a reliable U.S. partner. Overlooking human rights in our bilateral relations ultimately undercuts our national security and prosperity.” 

This pattern predates the current administration. President Biden met with MBS in 2022 and granted him immunity from legal action seeking to hold him accountable for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. These actions weakened U.S. credibility on human rights and set the stage for continued impunity — as we are seeing today.