Saudi Arabia forces Reuters correspondent to leave

Reuters said it stood by its coverage and welcomed an assurance given by the Saudi government that it would begin the accreditation of a replacement for correspondent Ulf Laessing.

Saudi information minister Abdul-Aziz Khoja said on Tuesday: “We have been accustomed to exceptional precision from Reuters but its correspondent here in one of his reports lately did not relay the actual, precise picture we have been used to from Reuters.

“In any case, his limited work permit in the kingdom has expired. We welcome any correspondent the company appoints and we will help and facilitate the mission of Reuters in having a new correspondent appointed in the kingdom.”

Laessing joined Reuters in his native Germany in 1997 and has been based in Riyadh since 2009. He has also worked in Egypt and Kuwait.

Editor-in-chief Stephen Adler praised his coverage and said “Reuters is committed to accurate and unbiased reporting from Saudi Arabia. We are disappointed that Ulf Laessing must leave Riyadh but welcome the minister’s assurance that Saudi Arabia will now accredit a new correspondent.”

Reuters became the first major international news organisation to have a foreign correspondent accredited to work in Saudi Arabia in 2003. ■