Both the White House and the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) blasted the decision of the government of Saudi Arabia Monday to deny an entry visa to Michael Wilner, the Washington bureau chief of the Jerusalem Post, during the visit of President Obama to Riyadh this week. Wilner, an American citizen, was the only journalist denied entry.
According to the report in the Jerusalem Post, the denial was given “despite firmly-worded requests from US National Security Advisor Susan Rice and assistant to the president Tony Blinken to Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir….”
The White House expressed its frustration over the decision. “We are deeply disappointed that this credible journalist was denied a visa,” said Bernadette Meehan, a spokesperson for the National Security Council. “We will continue to register our serious concerns about this unfortunate decision.”
Today Steve Thomma of McClatchy issued the following statement on behalf of the board of the WHCA:
It is outrageous that the Saudi government has refused to allow a White House reporter entry to the country to cover this week’s visit of President Barack Obama.
Michael Wilner, who covers the White House for the Jerusalem Post, had signed up to cover the visit and sought a visa along with the rest of the White House Press corps.
On Monday, he was the only one denied a visa. He had planned to travel straight to Saudi Arabia to cover that part of the president’s trip.
The denial is an affront not only to this journalist, but to the entire White House press corps and to the principle of freedom of the press that we hold so dear.
Wilner’s paper, The Jersualem Post, published a blistering editorial accusing the Saudi Kingdom of “generating public relations spectacles,” while Wilner himself responded as follows:
I am an American journalist covering the travel of an American president. We consider it unfortunate that Saudi Arabia would deny any legitimate reporter the ability to complete that work – much less one properly credentialed, in the White House press corps, expressly invited on the trip. We have little doubt that my access was denied either because of my media affiliation or because of my religion. That is a grave disappointment and a lost opportunity for the kingdom.
The Huffington Post’s Senior Media Reporter, Michael Calderone, notes that “Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, is ranked 164 out of 180 countries this year in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index. The Committee to Protect Journalists included Saudi Arabia on its list of the 10 most censored countries in the world.”