Mujahid Al-Haiqi, a freelance Yemeni journalist who has contributed to the independent Yemen-based outlet Aden Al-Ghad, was arrested at Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia on August 12 while traveling 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 believe Al-Haiqi was targeted because of his reporting on Yemen’s increasingly unstable Hadramawt governorate, an oil-rich region on the Gulf of Aden.
The governorate, which has become a focal point of competition between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has experienced growing unrest, and journalists there have faced multiple arrests this year. Al-Haiqi’s family emphasizedthat he had not engaged in any criminal activities during his short stay in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has played a central role in Yemen’s civil war since 2015, leading a coalition against the Iran-backed Houthis in support of the internationally recognized government.
In May, during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom, Al-Haiqi posted on X, urging Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to find a solution for Yemen and its people.
On October 27, the branches of the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate in Hadramout, Shabwah, Al-Mahra, and Socotra called on Hadramout Governor Mabkhout bin Madi to intervene in Al-Haiqi’s case.
CPJ’s emailed a request for comment to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. but did not receive a response.