Washington, D.C., September 5, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Saudi authorities to justify their detention of freelance Yemeni journalist Mujahid Al-Haiqi at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah airport last month, or immediately release him. 

“By arresting Mujahid Al-Haiqi without explanation, Saudi authorities show once again that journalists face tremendous perils in the kingdom, even when travelling for religious purposes,” said CPJ Program Director Sara Qudah. “Saudi authorities must immediately disclose the reasons for his arrest.”

Al-Haiqi, who has contributed to the Yemen-based independent media outlet Aden Al-Ghad, was taken into custody on August 12 while travelling to Egypt with his mother after completing the Islamic pilgrimage of Umrah.

Relatives told the Yemeni press freedom organization Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) that they believed Al-Haiqi was arrested due to his reporting on Yemen’s increasingly unstable Hadramawt governorate, an oil-rich region on the Gulf of Aden. 

The governorate, which has seen intense competition for influence between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has witnessed increasing unrest, and journalists have faced waves of arrests this year. Al-Haiqi’s family insisted he had not engaged in any criminal activities during his brief stay in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has played a central role in neighbouring Yemen’s civil war after 2015, leading a coalition against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and in support of the internationally recognized government.

In May, during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Al-Haiqi posted on X, urging Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to find a solution for Yemen and its people.

In 2024, Turkish journalist Kurtulus Demirbas was detained for several days while reporting on Turkey’s under-19 football team. 

CPJ’s emailed a request for comment to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not receive a response.