DUBAI
(Reuters) - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Saudi
Arabia to release a local journalist who was reportedly arrested this week
after
criticizing the government.
Saudi
activists and media reported that Saleh al-Shehi, a columnist for
Arabic-language daily al-Watan, was detained on Wednesday over various articles
and television appearances, including one in which he accused the royal court
of corruption in distributing land.
Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, who has launched reforms over the past two years to foster
economic diversity and cultural openness, ordered the arrest of more than 200
people, including princes, ministers and billionaires, last year. He said he
was going after corruption but critics saw the move as a consolidation of
power.
Resistance
to his economic agenda and assertive foreign policy has been treated harshly,
according to civil liberties monitors, who say freedom of expression is
increasingly constrained.
“Despite
promises of reform and moderation from Saudi Arabia’s emerging leadership, it
is clear from Saleh al-Shehi’s arrest that repression as usual continues,”
Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said in
a statement late on Friday.
“Saudi
authorities must release al-Shehi immediately, and Saudi leaders should ensure
that the press is able to freely report on all issues of public interest.”
The
government’s Center for International Communication did not immediately respond
to a request for comment. Reuters could not independently confirm that Shehi
had been arrested.
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