Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
A Year Later, Saudi Journalist's Killing Haunts Kingdom
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 1, 2019

Share

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year drew renewed scrutiny Tuesday to the kingdom, as his son and a U.N. investigator spoke out ahead of the anniversary of his death.

“The Crown Prince takes great pains to distance himself from the killing, creating layers after layers of officials and institutions between himself and the execution of Mr. Khashoggi, suggesting they are acting like a buffer. They are not…” — U.N. investigator Agnes Callamard

Saudi intelligence officials and a forensic doctor killed and dismembered Khashoggi on Oct. 2, 2018, just as his fiancée waited outside the diplomatic mission. Khashoggi, long a royal court insider, had been in self-imposed exile in the U.S. while writing critically of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, son of the oil-rich nation’s King Salman.

While the crown prince recently told CBS’ “60 Minutes” he did not order the writer’s killing, U.S. lawmakers and U.N. investigator Agnes Callamard laid the blame for the slaying on the prince. For its part, Saudi Arabia says it is trying 11 people for the killing but few details about the case have been released.

Callamard spared no criticism of the Saudi royal.

“A ‘responsible’ Statesman should not have tolerated 12 months of disinformation and 12 months continuing policies of intolerance and repression that led to Mr Khashoggi murder,” Callamard wrote on Twitter.

She added: “The Crown Prince takes great pains to distance himself from the killing, creating layers after layers of officials and institutions between himself and the execution of Mr. Khashoggi, suggesting they are acting like a buffer. They are not. The identity of the killers and planners point to a far closer relationship between them and him than he is prepared to admit.”

One Officer Referred to Him as ‘The Sacrificial Animal’

There was no immediate reaction from Saudi Arabia to Callamard’s comments, though the kingdom rejected her exhaustive report on the case by alleging it contained unexplained “prejudice and bias.”

Khashoggi, 59, was a longtime royal court insider and editor in state-linked newspapers in Saudi Arabia. As a journalist, he covered the mujahideen fighters who fought the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and later offered commentary on the 2011 Arab Spring.

But he described himself as worried by the rise of Prince Mohammed. He privately described the young prince in a text message to a friend as “a beast Pac-Man, the more victims he eats, the more he wants,” according to the U.N. report by Callamard.

But even in his columns for the Post, which the newspaper often translated into Arabic, Khashoggi kept up the criticism, noting the arrests of women’s rights activists even as Prince Mohammed and his father granted women the right to drive.

“We are being asked to abandon any hope of political freedom, and to keep quiet about arrests and travel bans that impact not only the critics but also their families,” Khashoggi wrote.

Needing paperwork to get married, Khashoggi was asked to return to the Saudi Consulate on Oct. 2, 2018. There, a team of Saudi intelligence officers and a forensic scientist trained in autopsy work waited for him. When he arrived, one officer referred to him as “the sacrificial animal,” the U.N. report said.

Photo of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman
FILE- In this Oct. 23, 2018 file photo, Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, smiles as he attends the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul drew renewed scrutiny to the kingdom, as his son and a U.N. investigator spoke out Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, ahead of the anniversary of his death. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

Critics Have Noted the Role Geopolitics Has Played in the Case

Callamard’s report relied on surveillance recordings apparently made by Turkish spies who monitored the consulate. During the days before Saudi Arabia acknowledged Khashoggi’s killing, Turkish authorities routinely leaked details of the writer’s slaying to local media.

“The 15-member assassination squad that murdered Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul and chopped his body into pieces served the interests of a shadow state within the kingdom’s government — not the Saudi state or people.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

“The 15-member assassination squad that murdered Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul and chopped his body into pieces served the interests of a shadow state within the kingdom’s government — not the Saudi state or people,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote in a column last weekend in the Post.

However, critics have noted the role geopolitics has played in the case — Turkey views itself as a rival to Saudi Arabia in the Muslim world while Erdogan’s government has been the world’s worst jailer of journalists in recent years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s government-funded Al-Jazeera satellite news network has offered almost nonstop coverage of the killing amid a four-nation boycott of Doha led by Riyadh.

Khashoggi’s killing pushed U.S. lawmakers away from Saudi Arabia, with President Donald Trump, who took his first overseas trip to the kingdom, even saying at one point that it involved a “cover-up that was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups.”

“Bad deal — should have never been thought of, somebody really messed up,” Trump said three weeks after the columnists’ death. “Whoever thought of that idea is in big trouble — and they should be in big trouble.”

Prince Mohammed Repeatedly Denied He Was Involved

Trump, however, declined to stop arms deals to Saudi Arabia and floated the idea that the slaying was a “rogue” operation even before the kingdom began offering that as an explanation.

Prince Mohammed, speaking to “60 Minutes” in an interview aired on Sunday, repeatedly denied he was involved, though any major decision in the autocratic kingdom comes from its rulers.

“When a crime is committed against a Saudi citizen by officials, working for the Saudi government, as a leader I must take responsibility,” the crown prince said. “This was a mistake. And I must take all actions to avoid such a thing in the future.”

Immediately after Saudi Arabia acknowledged Khashoggi’s killing, Prince Mohammed was shown on Saudi state media shaking hands with the writer’s son, Salah Khashoggi.

On Tuesday, Salah wrote on Twitter that he had “full confidence in the kingdom’s court in achieving justice for those who have murdered my father.”

“The enemies of our nation and his enemies in the East and West used his case to take advantage of my nation and leadership,” Salah wrote.

He added: “I will remain like Jamal Khashoggi loyal to my nation and its leadership.”

[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

DON'T MISS

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

DON'T MISS

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

DON'T MISS

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

DON'T MISS

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

DON'T MISS

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

DON'T MISS

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

DON'T MISS

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

DON'T MISS

Misty Her: Push for Fresno Unified Turnaround Starts Now With ‘Boots on the Ground’

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown

UP NEXT

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

UP NEXT

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

UP NEXT

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

Israeli Fire Kills at Least 44 People in Gaza, Hits a Police Station

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

48 minutes ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

1 hour ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

2 hours ago

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

2 hours ago

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

2 hours ago

Misty Her: Push for Fresno Unified Turnaround Starts Now With ‘Boots on the Ground’

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown

3 hours ago

What’s Next for Fresno Smoke Shop Ordinance: Lawsuit, Veto, Override?

4 hours ago

Visalia Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2019 Fatal Stabbing

4 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

5 hours ago

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

WASHINGTON — Why not tax the millionaires? As Congress begins drafting a massive package for President Donald Trump’s “big, beau...

2 minutes ago

2 minutes ago

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

5 minutes ago

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

Selma Mayor Scott Robertson (left) has been charged with misdemeanor electioneering for allegedly campaigning near voters at a polling place during the November 2024 election. (Facebook)
22 minutes ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

48 minutes ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

1 hour ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

2 hours ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

A drone view shows containers at the terminals at the port in Kwai Chung in Hong Kong, China, April 3, 2025. (REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo)
2 hours ago

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

2 hours ago

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend