Saudi officials were upset to hear that the country’s rating had fallen on a press freedom index less than a year after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Reporters without Borders (RSF) said staffers met with Saudi government officials in a series of meetings in Riyadh back in April, The Guardian reported.

The meetings were organized to advocate for the release of 30 jailed journalists. However, the Saudis were more concerned with being ranked 172 out of 180 countries in the RSF’s press freedom index, making it one of the least supportive countries for journalism.

RSF staffers said Saudi officials which included Adel al-Jubeir, the minister of state for foreign affairs, and public prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb, allegedly expressed that the detained journalists were not being held because of their work.

Last year, the country was ranked at 169th. The index evaluates the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories every year.

Reporters without Borders is an international non-profit that advocates on issues relating to freedom of information and freedom of the press.

Explaining Saudi Arabia’s drop in the most recent index, the advocacy group highlighted that the number of journalists and citizen-journalists in detention has tripled since the start of 2017 and that the repression of free speech has intensified under Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Still, RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire and RSF’s UK bureau director Rebecca Vincent said the Saudis considered their bad ranking “purely illegitimate.”

“We explained how their global image is totally terrible … and we tried to explain that what they have to do is to take action,” said Deloire.

Last year, Saudi Arabia was in hot water after it confirmed that the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was premeditated. A UN investigator urged an investigation into Crown Prince bin Salman over the slaying.

The Washington Post columnist was murdered and dismembered at Istanbul’s Saudi Arabian consulate on October 2nd.

He had gone to the consulate to seek guidance on a marriage license.

His fiancé Hatice Cengiz penned a NY Times op-ed slamming the US for not doing enough to bring Khashoggi’s killers to justice.

This October will mark the first anniversary of his death.