Indian Journalist Arrested in Saudi Arabia While Performing Umrah

Indian media sources reported that Saudi authorities arrested Indian journalist and TV9 Bharatvarsh correspondent Richa Hussain while she was in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.

According to the reports, Hussain lost contact with her family on the evening of Wednesday, September 30. Her last communication was with a friend between 6 and 7 p.m. Indian time, when she told her that she had been arrested and asked her to inform her family.

Hussain had traveled to Saudi Arabia on the morning of Monday, September 28, to perform Umrah. She completed the pilgrimage rituals in Mecca before traveling to Medina, according to the information circulating.

Hussain’s reported arrest comes amid documented cases of people being detained in Saudi Arabia while performing Umrah or Hajj over tweets or positions critical of the Saudi authorities. Over the past three years, there have also been arrests at the Grand Mosque in Mecca linked to expressions of solidarity with Palestine, including raising the Palestinian flag or chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.