US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to raise human rights concerns and the case of jailed Harvard-trained Saudi-American doctor Walid Fitaihi during his two-day visit to Riyadh, the State Department said in a readout of his remarks to reporters.
“I’m sure I’ll bring up that issue and a wide range of human rights issues as well”, Pompeo said when asked whether he plans to bring up the Fitaihi case.
Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and is expected to remain in the kingdom until Friday.
“Each of the visits I’ve had to the kingdom during my time both as the CIA director and as Secretary of State we’ve raised these important issues, the issues that matter a lot to the American people”, Pompeo said.
Fitaihi faces charges that include obtaining United States citizenship without permission from the Saudi government and working with an organisation affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood*, which Saudi Arabia considers a terrorist group.
*The organisation is banned in Russia
