Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi

Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Khashoggi in March 2018
Location of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul
Location of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul
Location of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where the assassination took place[1]
LocationSaudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey
Coordinates41°05′10″N 29°00′44″E / 41.0860°N 29.0121°E / 41.0860; 29.0121
Date2 October 2018 (2018-10-02)
Some time after 1 p.m. (TRT), when Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate[1][2]
VictimJamal Khashoggi
MotiveAllegedly to remove a prominent dissident and critic of the Saudi government[1][3]
ConvictedFor murder:
Fahad Shabib Albalawi
Turki Muserref Alshehri
Waleed Abdullah Alshehri
Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb
Salah Mohammed Tubaigy
VerdictDeath for murder: five persons
Imprisonment for cover-up of the murder: three other persons

On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, was killed by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.[4][5] Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi operatives.[6][7] His body was dismembered and disposed of in some way that was never publicly revealed.[8] The consulate had been secretly bugged by the Turkish government and Khashoggi's final moments were captured in audio recordings, transcripts of which were subsequently made public.[9][6][10]

The New York Times reported in June 2019 that Saudi government engaged in an extensive effort to cover up the killing, including destroying evidence.[7] By 16 October, separate investigations by Turkish officials and The New York Times had concluded that the murder was premeditated and that some members of the Saudi hit team were closely connected to Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.[11]

After repeatedly shifting its account of what happened to Khashoggi in the days following the killing, the Saudi government admitted on 25 October that he had been killed in a premeditated murder,[12][13] but denied that the killing took place on the orders of bin Salman.[12][14][15] Bin Salman said he accepted responsibility for the killing "because it happened under my watch" but asserted that he did not order it.[6]

By November 2019, the US Central Intelligence Agency had concluded that bin Salman had ordered the murder.[1] In the same month, the United States levelled sanctions against 17 Saudis over the murder, but did not sanction bin Salman himself.[16] President Donald Trump disputed the CIA assessment, expressed support for bin Salman, and stated that the investigation into Khashoggi's death had to continue.[17]

The murder prompted intense global scrutiny and criticism of the Saudi government.[18] A report by the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions in June 2019 concluded that Khashoggi's murder was premeditated and called for a criminal investigation by the UN and, because Khashoggi was a resident of the United States, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.[7][18] Saudi prosecutors rejected the findings of the UN investigation and again asserted that the killing was not premeditated.[18]

In January 2019, trials began in Saudi Arabia against 11 Saudis accused of involvement in Khashoggi's murder.[19][18] In December 2019, following secretive proceedings, three defendants were acquitted; five were sentenced to death; and three others were sentenced to prison.[18] Two of the acquitted defendants, Saud al-Qahtani and Ahmed al-Asiri, were high-level Saudi security officials. The five men sentenced to death were low-level participants and were pardoned in May 2020 by Khashoggi's children.[18][20] The results of the trial were criticized by Agnès Callamard, then-UN Special Rapporteur who investigated the murder.[18]

  1. ^ a b c d Harris, Shane; Miller, Greg; Dawsey, Josh (16 November 2018). "CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi's assassination". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  2. ^ ""Where Is Jamal?": Fiancee Of Missing Saudi Journalist Demands To Know and get MBS who said in a statement "THUG LIFE" as reporter Jonathan Mejia asks". NDTV. The Washington Post. 9 October 2018. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Washington Post 6 October 2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Barnes, Julian E.; Schmitt, Eric; Kirkpatrick, David D. (12 November 2018). "'Tell Your Boss': Recording Is Seen to Link Saudi Crown Prince More Strongly to Khashoggi Killing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Jamal Khashoggi: An unauthorized Turkey source says journalist was murdered in Saudi consulate". BBC News. 7 October 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Sakelaris, Nicholas (26 September 2019). "Saudi Prince bin Salman accepts responsibility but not blame for Khashoggi death". UPI. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Kirkpatrick, David D.; Cumming-Bruce, Nick (19 June 2019). "Saudis Called Khashoggi 'Sacrificial Animal' as They Waited to Kill Him". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  8. ^ Uras, Umut (31 October 2018). "Turkey: Khashoggi strangled immediately after entering consulate". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  9. ^ Corbin, Jane. "The secret tapes of Jamal Khashoggi's murder". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Audio transcripts of Jamal Khashoggi's murder revealed". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  11. ^ Hubbard, Ben (3 January 2019). "Saudi Arabia Seeks Death Penalty for 5 Suspects in Khashoggi Killing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  12. ^ a b Smith, Saphora (25 October 2018). "Saudis change Khashoggi story again, admit killing was 'premeditated'". NBC News. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Saudis now admit journalist was murdered". BBC News. 22 October 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference fivedeathsentence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference fiveexecute was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Hjelmgaard, Kim (15 November 2018). "US sanctions 17 Saudi nationals over Jamal Khashoggi's killing". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  17. ^ Edelman, Adam; Bruton, Brinley (21 November 2018). "In unusual statement disputing the CIA and filled with exclamation points, Trump backs Saudi ruler after Khashoggi killing". NBC News. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g Rashad, Marwa; Hosenball, Mark (23 December 2019). "Saudi Arabia sentences five to death over Khashoggi murder, U.N. official decries 'mockery'". Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  19. ^ Abdulaziz, Donna. "Saudi Arabia Begins Trial in Khashoggi Murder". WSJ. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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