Concluding his visit on Thursday, Secretary of State Blinken told reporters he raised human rights issues with Saudi officials and "made clear that progress on human rights strengthens our relationship." "Human rights are always on the agenda of the United States - that’s who we are," he said during a news conference. But some rights advocates argue the golf deal shows the administration has chosen geopolitics over human rights. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says scores of human rights activists and dissidents are in prison or on trial in Saudi Arabia and that the repression "spiked" following Biden's visit last year. The list included prominent cleric Salman al-Odah, children of former spy chief Saad al-Jabri, human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani and aid worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan.

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Persons: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Joe Biden, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, LIV, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Biden, Seth Binder, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Sarah Yager, Salman al, Saad al, Mohammed al, Abdulrahman, Saad Ibrahim Almadi, Tess McEnery, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis, Arshad Mohammed, Don Durfee, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Saudi Crown, Al, Saudi Royal Court, REUTERS, Saudi, Public Investment Fund, North, MbS, PGA, East Democracy, Biden, Rights Watch, Saudi Foreign, U.S, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Bandar, REUTERS RIYADH, WASHINGTON, U.S, Riyadh, Washington, United States, Yemen, New York, China, Israel, OPEC, Russia, Florida