As President-elect Biden begins to engage the world, one of his most challenging relationships will be with Saudi Arabia. The oil kingdom and ally against Iran has a dismal record on human rights even in the United States. Case in point, 15-year-old Fallon Smart of Portland, Oregon. She was killed in a hit and run by a Saudi student who vanished before trial. He’s among many Saudis accused of serious crimes in the U.S. who mysteriously disappear. Their victims include Fawn Lengvenis, the mother of Fallon Smart. She told us about the day in 2016 that she drove to pick up her daughter at a shop. Fallon only had to cross two-lane Hawthorne Street to reach her mother and two siblings in their car. Fawn Lengvenis waved to her daughter, lost sight of her, and realized something was wrong.

Fawn Lengvenis: So I left my daughter– my younger daughter with a complete stranger on the corner of Hawthorne. And I ran up to Fallon with my young son still in my arms. And I started shouting Fallon’s name. She was splayed out on the-– in the middle of the street clearly very injured. So, I threw my body onto the cement next to her and was holding her hand, looking her in the eye.

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