The Committee to Protect Journalists and more than 70 digital and human rights organizations on Thursday called on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to reverse the decision for Saudi Arabia to host the 2024 annual Internet Governance Forum as the physical and digital security risks would severely undermine civil society’s participation.
The joint letter highlights the lack of justice for Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi five years on from his murder at the country’s consulate in Istanbul, worsening repression under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Saudi Arabia’s extensive use of spyware to surveil journalists. In its latest annual prison census, CPJ documented 11 Saudi journalists in jail for their work as of December 1, 2022.
Read the full letter.