The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed deep disappointment on Friday about President Joe Biden’s comments following his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled that President Joe Biden did not make any meaningful statement about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi after his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “For Biden to say he has made his views ‘crystal clear’ is empty talk. U.S. intelligence says MBS approved Khashoggi’s killing. Biden’s failure to hold him to account suggests states can get away with sanctioning such killings and has profound implications for press freedom everywhere.”
CPJ called earlier Friday for the Biden administration to commit to an FBI-led investigation into the May 11 killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and for Biden to press for the release of journalists jailed in Saudi Arabia and Egypt as he completes his Middle East tour.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.