Washington, D.C., June 14, 2025 — Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior announced the Saturday execution of prominent Saudi journalist Turki al-Jasser, who had been detained for seven years on charges of treason, foreign collaboration, funding terrorism, and endangering national security and unity.
Saudi authorities arrested al-Jasser in 2018 and seized his devices, believing that he was behind an X, then known as Twitter, account that documented allegations of corruption within the Saudi royal family. Saudi officials have been accused of spying on Saudi X users and journalists, including Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 2018.
“We are outraged by Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent journalist Turki al-Jasser, who was detained for seven years because the regime believed he reported on allegations of corruption within the Saudi royal family,” said CPJ Chief Program Officer Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “The international community’s failure to deliver justice for Jamal Khashoggi did not just betray one journalist; it emboldened de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to continue his persecution of the press, and today, another Saudi journalist has paid the price.”
Al-Jasser was a prominent Saudi journalist who wrote on sensitive issues, including women’s rights, the Arab Spring, and corruption. He contributed to the now-shuttered Saudi newspaper Al-Taqrir and his personal blog between 2013 and 2015.
While detained, Al-Jasser was subjected to enforced disappearance, denied access to legal representation and his family, and allegedly endured multiple forms of physical and psychological torture.
In 2024, Saudi Arabia executed 330 people — nearly double the 172 recorded the previous year and the highest in decades. So far in 2025, over 100 executions have already taken place.
UN experts and rights groups have repeatedly called on the Saudi government to halt executions, raising serious concerns about due process.
CPJ’s email to the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C., requesting comment about al-Jasser’s execution did not receive an immediate response.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.