Ahead of President Bush’s visit, Saudi Arabia detained several prominent dissidents, including Fouad Ahmed al-Farhan, who runs a popular pro-reform blog. Al-Farhan has been jailed without charge since December 10. On Wednesday, President Bush plans to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who has also been criticized for jailing dissidents and bloggers.
One online journalist, Abdel Karim Suleiman, is serving a four-year prison sentence for allegedly insulting Islam and Mubarak. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Bush to urge King Abdullah and President Mubarak to release the jailed journalists and bloggers. Meanwhile in Cairo, several hundred opposition activists demonstrated on Monday against Bush’s scheduled visit.