Your Royal Highness: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest an incident over the weekend in which Saudi authorities confiscated videotapes and a laptop computer from Dr. Bob Arnot, a reporter for the U.S. cable television channel MSNBC. On April 21, security officials at the Riyadh airport escorted Dr. Arnot off a flight to Dubai, in the neighboring United Arab Emirates. The officials demanded video footage that Dr. Arnot had gathered during his reporting trip to Saudi Arabia, which the journalist undertook with Saudi government permission.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the arrest of Saudi poet and journalist Abdel Mohsen Mosallam. We are also deeply concerned by Your Excellency’s order to dismiss the editor of the daily newspaper Al-Madina, Muhammad Mukhtar al-Fal.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most closed societies in the world. The ruling al-Saud family tolerates no political dissent of any kind, especially in the press. Newspapers are deferential toward the ruling family and government policies. Although papers now report more openly on topics such as crime and unemployment, there is no open criticism…