Click to expand Image US President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Saudi Royal Court, in Riyadh, May 13, 2025. © 2025 Win McNamee/Getty Images (Washington, DC) – The United States government, including Congress, should address Saudi human rights abuses during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s expected visit to Washington, DC, on November 18, 2025, said 11 organizations, including Human Rights Watch, in a joint statement today.The Trump administration is expected to welcome the crown prince on his first visit to the United States since he approved the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in March 2018 and oversaw an unprecedented rights crackdown in Saudi Arabia.The following are statements from a number of human rights organizations about the visit:Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch:“Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is trying to rebrand himself as a global statesman, but the reality at home is mass repression, record numbers of executions, and zero tolerance for dissent. US officials should be pressing for change, not posing for photos.”“In the fallout from Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination, Mohammed bin Salman’s regime felt international pressure to improve its human rights record, and that pressure made a difference. Some child defendants on death row were resentenced and released, and from July 2021-July 2025, there were no executions for childhood crimes.”“The recent executions of Jalal al-Labbad and Abdullah al-Derazi show a brutal Saudi regime acting with impunity and daring partners to object. The US must urgently reconsider its massive security assistance to a country that executes people for attending demonstrations when they were 15 years old. It’s too late for Jalal and Abdullah, but a strong signal from the US that this is unacceptable could save Youssef al-Manasif’s life.”Abdullah Alaoudh, senior director for countering authoritarianism at the Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC):“It is a tragic irony that while Saudi Arabia carries out a record number of executions, including prominent journalist Turki al-Jasser who was executed just a few months ago, MBS comes to Washington for his first visit since his regime’s ruthless murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”“The change in Saudi Arabia seems to be from killing journalists behind closed doors to executing them in plain sight.”Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center:“Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s most relentless jailers of writers, consistently ranking among the top three in PEN America’s Freedom to Write Index.”“Again and again, we’ve seen Saudi authorities weaponize their justice system to silence writers, handing down draconian sentences and, in some cases, executing those whose only crime was speaking freely. As the White House welcomes the crown prince, US representatives must condemn the Saudi government’s ongoing repression of dissidents and writers at risk. We urge the Trump administration to prioritize human rights and freedom of expression.”Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN):“The Trump administration is rolling out the red carpet for the man who approved the murder and dismemberment of our founder Jamal Khashoggi.”“We know President Trump won’t ask MBS to reveal where Jamal’s remains are so his family can finally bury him. But the least he can do—the absolute minimum—is publicly press MBS to release the dozens of activists, writers, and reformers languishing in Saudi prisons for the ‘crime’ of speaking freely.”Abdullah Aljuraywi, monitoring and campaigns officer at ALQST for Human Rights:“Beneath Saudi Arabia’s glittering facade, the repression of Saudi citizens and residents continues unabated. To avoid emboldening this, the US should use its leverage to secure concrete commitments, including the release of detained activists, lifting of arbitrary travel bans, and an end to politically motivated executions.”Signatories: ALQST for Human RightsCommittee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)DAWNFreedom HouseGulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)Human Rights WatchMENA Rights GroupMiddle East Democracy CenterPeace ActionPEN AmericaReprieve