Fourteen portraits after Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia’s detained journalists

After the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) promised reforms to support press freedom and protect journalists.

At the time, MBS called the assassination a ‘mistake’, adding in a Fox News interview in September 2023, ‘We tried to reform the security system to be sure that this kind of mistake doesn’t happen again, and we can see in the past five years nothing of those things happened’, referring to the killing.

Yet, on 14 June 2025, Al-Jasser was executed, in line with Saudi law.

Before his murder, Al-Jasser was a jailed journalist. He had been imprisoned for running the news blog, Al-Mashhad Al-Saudi (‘The Saudi Scene’), where he regularly addressed social issues such as women’s rights and the Palestinian cause.

Several of his fellow journalists remain behind bars — often mistreated or denied fair trials — for their reporting. Some have been imprisoned since 2012. Others were arrested during the wave of detentions that preceded the rise to power of MBS in 2017. Their fate now lies in the hands of an increasingly repressive regime.

Portraits

As of 21 July, 14 journalists remain behind bars in Saudi Arabia for doing their job. Here are their stories:

Wajdi al-Ghazzawi, host of the show, Fadfadah

Persecuted in exile
Detained since 10 August 2012

Broadcast from exile in Cairo, Fadfadah (‘Unburdening’ in Arabic) aired on the religious educational channel, Al Fajr. It raised awareness among Saudi citizens about their rights, while covering topics like administrative corruption, terrorism, and the political role of religion.

As the show gained popularity, Saudi authorities demanded Al-Ghazzawi return to the kingdom in exchange for full immunity. After complying in November 2011, he was first placed under house arrest, then interrogated and arrested on 1 August 2012.

In February 2014, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison, followed by a 20-year travel ban and a permanent ban from appearing in the media for allegedly ‘harming the nation’s image’.

Turad al-Amri, columnist and independent journalist

Detained for nine years without trial for news commentary
Detained since November 2016

Held for nearly a decade without being formally charged, Al-Amri is a well-known writer and commentator. A frequent guest on Saudi talk shows, his YouTube videos drew thousands of views.

According to family members, his arrest followed sharp criticism of Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen and its treatment of prisoners. In July 2024, the group Together for Justice reported that he had been tortured in detention.

Esam al-Zamel, blogger and columnist for Mecca and Monitor

Fifteen years in prison for criticising Aramco sale
Detained since September 2017

Economist and blogger Al-Zamel was sentenced to 15 years in prison in October 2020 for ‘economic terrorism’, ‘sedition’ and ‘sabotaging national unity’, according to Saudi authorities.

He was arrested in 2017 upon returning from a business trip at Dammam airport and transferred to Al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh. According to the NGO, Al-Qst, his arrest followed a series of tweets criticising MBS’s failed plan to privatise the national oil company, Saudi Aramco.

A prominent economic journalist, he regularly published analysis on his X account (then Twitter), which had nearly 844 000 followers before it was shut down by authorities. As a columnist for Mecca, he consistently voiced support for human rights, civil liberties, reforms and the Arab Spring.

Ali al-Omari, news commentator, author and TV host

The impact of a journalist who spoke truth to power
Detained since 9 September 2017

Advocating for greater rights for Saudi women and speaking out against religious extremism in Saudi society were among the public positions that led to al-Omari’s arrest in 2017.

A 51-year-old news commentator, he chaired the board of the TV channel, 4Shbab, hosted talk shows, and produced more than 20 television programmes. He is also a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, which Saudi Arabia has classified as a terrorist organisation.

His arrest came during a wave of detentions targeting prominent figures in the kingdom following King Abdullah’s death in 2015 and the rise of MBS. According to RSF information, the prosecutor brought nearly 30 charges against him — several directly linked to his journalistic work — and reportedly sought the death penalty.

His trial began in 2018 but was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic. No verdict has been issued.

Musaid bin Hamad al-Kathiri, writer and columnist

Imprisoned despite a completed sentence and a secret trial
Detained since 9 September 2017

Al-Kathiri completed his 3.5-year prison sentence in March 2021 — two and a half years ago — yet he remains behind bars. He was arrested in 2017 during a wave of detentions targeting influential public figures ahead of MBS’s rise to power. In 2020, he was sentenced on charges that remain undisclosed.

Known for criticising corruption within the Saudi media landscape and the country’s lack of media pluralism, Al-Kathiri was tried in secret. Saudi authorities have offered no legal explanation for his continued detention.

Abu Mohammed al-Banakhi, blogger

Held without trial
Detained since 12 September 2017

Without any formal charges or a trial, blogger Al-Banakhi is now entering his eighth year in Saudi detention for posting tweets critical of the regime’s policies. He was arrested in September 2017 and, since 2020, has been held in Al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh under deplorable conditions, according to RSF information.

Adel Bana’ema, journalist, writer and TV presenter

A critical voice silenced behind bars
Detained since 12 September 2017

Originally from Mecca, Adel Bana’ema is a Saudi journalist, writer and was a professor at Umm al-Qura University. He regularly published opinion pieces in local outlets such as Al-Madina and on platforms like Makkah Online, where he addressed social, cultural and political issues with a critical tone of voice.

He also hosted and appeared on 4Shabab TV, a channel known for its moderate programming aimed at Saudi youth.

He was arrested during a night raid on his home on 12 September 2017, amid a broader wave of repression. He was mistreated in detention, as documented in medical reports that were sent to King Salman in hopes of ending the abuse. Although he has officially completed his eight-year prison sentence, he remains arbitrarily detained.

Adel Bana’ema also previously served as an Arabic language professor, director of the Islamic section of Al Bilad newspaper, and as a religious preacher.

Sami al-Thubaiti, blogger and journalist for Tawasul

Heavily punished for his call for unity
Detained since 13 September 2017

Al-Thubaiti wrote for the Saudi news website, Tawasul, where he covered a range of topics, including the kidnapping of two young girls in Mecca, corruption at a local hospital and the closure of a Saudi television channel.

His arrest may also be linked to several of his posts on Twitter (now X), where he notably called for unity among Middle Eastern countries — without ever directly criticising the Saudi authorities.

Mohamed Ahmed al-Hazzaa al-Ghamdi, political cartoonist for Lusail

Twenty-three years in prison for cartoons
Detained since 13 February 2018

Arrested on 13 February 2018 for publishing his cartoons in a Qatari newspaper during Saudi Arabia’s official boycott of Qatar, he was charged with multiple offences, including  ‘sympathy toward Qatar’ and “’communicating with individuals hostile to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’.

Al-Ghamdi, known by his pseudonym, al-Hazzaa, was sentenced in September 2021 to six years in prison — a sentence later reduced to three years on appeal. In 2023, a court extended his sentence to 23 years during a secret trial, without any possibility of appeal.

Zuhair Kutbi, freelance journalist

A cancer patient detained without trial
Detained since 10 January 2019

Kutbi is facing his second arrest. He was first detained in July 2015 and sentenced on 21 December of the same year to four years in prison — two of them suspended — on charges of ‘incitement’ and ‘undermining state symbols’. A contributor to the online news outlet, Maccah Online, he had criticised the Saudi regime and called for reforms on television.

His sentence also included a fine of nearly 100 000 Saudi riyals (SR, about R480 ooo), a five-year travel ban and a 15-year ban on writing.

Kutbi, who suffers from cancer, was reportedly subjected to mistreatment during his detention — abuse that was denounced by RSF. Released in June 2017, he was arrested again on 10 January 2019 at his home in Mecca for unknown reasons. Since then, he has remained behind bars in Al-Ha’ir prison, where his health continues to deteriorate.

He has still not been granted a trial.

Abdel Rahman Farhaneh, Jordanian journalist

Detained in secret for covering Palestine
Detained since 22 February 2019

A 66-year-old Jordanian journalist and contributor to several media outlets, including the Jordanian daily, Al-Sabeel, and Al Jazeera, Farhaneh reported on topics related to Palestinian politics, Islamist movements and regional geopolitics.

On 22 February 2019, he was arrested by Saudi security forces at a checkpoint near Dammam airport. He was then taken to his home, where his personal belongings were confiscated, before being transferred to an undisclosed location and held in secret detention without access to a lawyer. RSF raised the alarm about his case at the time.

In March 2020, he was finally brought before a Saudi prosecutor and informed of the charges against him, which included ‘membership in a terrorist organisation’ and ‘providing support to a terrorist organisation’.

That same year, he was placed in solitary confinement for six months under the pretext of COVID-19 measures. On 8 August 2021, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison — a sentence later reduced to nine and a half years on appeal.

Maha al-Rafidi, journalist at Al-Watan

Isolated and tortured for speaking out
Detained since September 2019

Al-Rafidi, a journalist with the outlet, Al-Watan, was held in pre-trial detention beginning in September 2019 for around 100 days before being transferred to Sha’ar prison, located in the Asir region in southern Saudi Arabia.

In 2021, she was initially sentenced to five years in prison — a sentence later increased to six years by the Supreme Court. During her detention, she was placed in solitary confinement for two months and subjected to torture, according to RSF information.

The journalist had expressed support for the Palestinian cause and criticised Saudi Arabia’s plans to normalise ties with Israel.

Zana al-Shahri, journalist for Al-Asr
Six years in prison for opinion pieces
Detained since 28 september 2019

Al-Shahri, a Saudi journalist and contributor to the activist online newspaper, Al-Asr, was arrested on 28 September 2019 in Saudi Arabia. She had published opinion pieces advocating for a constitutional monarchy.

he was sentenced later that year, although the charges against her remain unknown. For carrying out her work as a journalist, she has been languishing in prison for nearly six years under inhumane conditions, denied proper medical care and deprived of family visits.

Ali Aboluhom, director of Al Wadi TV and radio host at Yemen Times

A Yemeni journalist silenced without a trial or lawyer
Detained since August 2021

According to information published by RSF in 2021, Aboluhom’s wife lost contact with him while he was reportedly at work. She was later informed that her husband was under criminal investigation. She was only permitted to see him 10 days after his arrest, with initial interrogations conducted without legal counsel.

According to a 10-page court ruling obtained by RSF, Aboluhom was accused by Saudi authorities of operating a now-deleted Twitter account that allegedly promoted ‘ideas of apostasy, atheism and blasphemy’. Authorities identified him as the account owner by tracing the associated email address.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Since his arrest, he has been held in Najran prison, where he faces harsh detention conditions. He has yet to be granted a fair trial.

• This article was first published here