Seth Abramson: Why wasn't this front page news???

[triron]

Link to tweet

[Takket]

1. WTF????????????????????????????????

how did no one know about this????????????

[triron]

2. Noteven Rachel??

[marble falls]

3. It has been, and for several months ...

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100211886897

https://www.foxnews.com/world/u-s-state-department-confirms-an-american-citizen-held-in-captivity-in-saudi-arabia

https://www.kimonews.com/2019/03/04/u-s-state-department-confirms-an-american-citizen-held-in-captivity-in-saudi-arabia/

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/03/03/report-us-citizen-detained-tortured-in-saudi-arabia/23683084/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/saudi-arabia-american-citizen-detained_n_5c7be8d9e4b0e5e313cb952a



And my personal favorite:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/saudi-arabia-frees-us-citizen-after-nearly-two-years-report/ar-AAFc2Io

Saudi Arabia frees US citizen after nearly two years: report
Zack Budryk
9 hrs ago
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Saudi Arabia has freed an American citizen detained for 21 months, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing two friends of the family.
Saudi Arabia frees US citizen after nearly two years: report© Getty Images Saudi Arabia frees US citizen after nearly two years: report

Walid Fitaihi, who holds dual Saudi-American citizenship, was detained in November 2017, although the Saudi government never gave an official reason for either his detention or release and it remains unclear whether he was ever charged with a crime.

Fitaihi was apparently the only American caught up in a broad sweep conducted by the government in recent years that has resulted in the detention of hundreds, many of them dissidents, critics of the royal family and women's rights activists.

The Times reported that Fitaihi has told a friend he was tortured by security officials in captivity, echoing complaints by relatives of others caught up in the crackdown, who say their relatives have been beaten and blindfolded during interrogations.

Fitaihi was released Wednesday evening and has returned to his family's home in the port city of Jiddah, according to the Times, citing family friend Tarek Abou Ghazala and another friend who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

In March, nine Senate Democrats petitioned for Fitaihi's release, along with several other detainees, including human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair and women's rights activists Loujian al-Hathloul and Samar Badawi.

"Not only have reputable international organizations detailed the arbitrary detention of peaceful activists and dissidents without trial for long periods, but the systematic discrimination against women, religious minorities and mistreatment of migrant workers and others has also been well-documented," the senators wrote in the letter.

He's been FREED!!!

[pnwmom]

6. Hard to tell whether most of these stories are "front page."

[marble falls]

7. How about the WaPo and NYT reporting he was realeased 10 hours ago????

[pnwmom]

8. Do you see these stories on the front page? I just looked at both papers and don't see it.

In the NY Times I didn't see it on the online page for today. The WA post had it far down on the online version, but did not have the story on its printed front page.

[marble falls]

9. It was 10 hours ago. How about an OP that was inaccurate when it was posted???

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-doctor-us.html

Saudi Arabia Frees Doctor With U.S. Citizenship After 21 Months
ImageDr. Walid Fitaihi’s son, Ahmed Fitaihi, urged Saudi leaders to release his father at a news conference on Capitol Hill in March. Dr. Fitaihi is at left in the displayed picture.
Dr. Walid Fitaihi’s son, Ahmed Fitaihi, urged Saudi leaders to release his father at a news conference on Capitol Hill in March. Dr. Fitaihi is at left in the displayed picture.CreditCreditSarah Silbiger/The New York Times

By Ben Hubbard

Aug. 1, 2019

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Saudi Arabia has freed a doctor with dual Saudi-American citizenship after he was detained for 21 months and reportedly tortured, two friends of the family said on Thursday.

The Saudis first detained Dr. Walid Fitaihi in November 2017 amid what the government called a crackdown on corruption. Despite Dr. Fitaihi’s lengthy detention, the Saudi government has never explained the reason for his arrest and has not said whether he was ever charged with a crime.

On Thursday, a Saudi official said that Mr. Fitaihi had been released pending trial, in part because of a provision in the kingdom’s counterterrorism and terrorism finance law, suggesting that he faced charges connected to that law.

He is one of hundreds of Saudis who have been detained in recent years as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has secured his grip on power. The detainees have included prominent businessmen and government ministers, members of the royal family, clerics, intellectuals and activists who have campaigned against the kingdom’s restrictions on women.

<snip>

[pnwmom]

10. The printed page of the WA Post was from this morning and the story wasn't on it. n/t

[marble falls]

11. Look, the issue is whether this story was covered or not. The fact is it was ...

by a lot of sources. The fact is he was released and the release was covered by WaPo after its print issue was released, it has prominence on its web page edition as it was in the NYT: more than nine hours before the OP. I'm not sure what bone you have to pick with me, but I stand by my point: this issue was well covered by the press and and it was resolved today, which can be proven by a simple search on line.

[triron]

13. No it's not.

[UniteFightBack]

14. People are looking for any and every excuse to bash all forms of media. So we have the fake

prezident saying fake news etc and of course all the pukes follow along and then that is also all I see on this forum as well.
So we have both of these things
According to pukes:
The (liberal) mainstream media is in the pocket of liberals

According to (some) Dems:
The mainstream media is owned and run by republicans.

[triron]

15. Questioning not the same as bashing.

[UniteFightBack]

16. In general it is endless bashing. nt

[Pacifist Patriot]

18. I don't believe he's saying the release was not covered by media.

I think he's saying the detention and torture of a US citizen was not covered prominently by the media while that was happening. But I'm a few days out from general anesthesia and admit my brain is still a bit scrambled.

[marble falls]

19. He was saying the confinement wasn't covered, it was. He didn't even know about ...

the release, which was also widely covered.

Just because he didn't know it was widely covered (all it took was a little internet search) he was excoriating the lack of press coverage and accusing the press of indifference. All I was doing was demonstrating that there was wide coverage of the issue, that in fact the American citizen had been released prior to the posting of the OP.

Sheesh.

[Pacifist Patriot]

21. Ok

[UpInArms]

22. This sentence stood out

In March, nine Senate Democrats petitioned for Fitaihi's release, along with several other detainees, including human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair and women's rights activists Loujian al-Hathloul and Samar Badawi.

[marble falls]

23. What???? Donnie Two Scoops, Moscow Mitch didn't join in? Shocking!!

[watoos]

4. MBS went to Jared,

[triron]

12. This.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212338620

[KY_EnviroGuy]

17. Because a tortured American is not a bright shiny object or....

sexually intriguing or sensationalized politics or sports-related in nature. In this day and age, an atomic blast would take second column to tRump's change in spry tan color.

KY.............

[Malmsy]

20. Because of Trump's BFF there? eom