The US must place human rights at the forefront of its diplomatic agenda as Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Washington this week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday.

“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,” said Sarah Yager, Washington director at HRW.

The group, joined by its partners, claimed the Trump administration has failed to prioritize ongoing concerns about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record over national economic or security considerations. Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said:

The Trump administration is rolling out the red carpet for the man who approved the murder and dismemberment of our founder Jamal Khashoggi. 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.

The visit comes amid efforts by both governments to strengthen strategic ties, including discussions on defense cooperation and regional stability in the Middle East. HRW warned that such engagement risks legitimizing the Crown Prince’s leadership without holding the regime accountable for documented abuses. These include continued detention of peaceful dissidents, repression of women’s rights activists, and lack of justice for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

HRW and its partners urged Congress and the administration to press Saudi authorities to release detained activists, including Mohammed Ahmed al-Hazza al-Ghamdi, lift arbitrary travel bans on figures such as Loujain al-Hathloul, end politically motivated executions, and ensure accountability for past abuses. The groups also called for dismantling the kafala labor sponsorship system and reforming repressive laws, including the Anti-Cyber Crime Law and the Counter-Terrorism Law, that criminalize peaceful speech.