WASHINGTON — Senators on Wednesday warned that Saudi Arabia is committing a growing list of rights abuses, citing the detention and alleged torture of a U.S.-Saudi physician, adding to pressure on the Trump administration to reconsider its close ties to the country’s rulers.
In a hearing to appoint new ambassadors to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, both Republicans and Democrats listed complaints, from Riyadh’s role in the Yemen war to the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, to the detention and torture of women’s rights activists.
This week, advocates detailed the case of Dr. Walid Fitaihi, a dual Saudi-American citizen, who has been held in a Saudi prison since November 2017 without charge. The Freedom Initiative, an advocacy group, said Saudi officials may have tortured Fitaihi, who is now in a prison hospital in a deteriorating state of mental and physical health.
Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Saudi Arabia is the most difficult U.S. partner and is testing the limits of the relationship by committing “grotesque” human rights violations at home and abroad. He described Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as “ruthless,” “reckless” and increasingly untenable. “He’s gone full gangster. And it’s difficult to work with a guy like that no matter how important the relationship is,” Rubio said.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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