Ahead of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s planned visit to Washington on November 18, 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 10 other human rights and press freedom organizations released a joint statement calling on the U.S. government, including Congress, to address Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses.

The statement noted that this will be the crown prince’s first visit to the United States since he approved the killing of Washington Post columnist and U.S. legal resident Jamal Khashoggi. It also highlighted a surge in executions and the silencing of independent voices in recent years without due process, including the execution of journalist Turki al-Jasser, known for exposing corruption within the Saudi royal family.

The groups urged U.S. officials to press the crown prince to end his government’s rights violations, release detained journalists, activists, and writers, and halt the systematic repression of free expression.

Read the full statement here.