In early October 2018, Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Istanbul. To understand the series of events that led to the murder, it is necessary to understand the background of the journalist and his relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi was once a well-known journalist in Saudi Arabia. According to the BBC, he “covered major stories including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of Osama Bin Laden for various Saudi news organisations. For decades, he was close to the Saudi royal family and also served as an adviser to the government.” However, after becoming an editor for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Watan newspaper in 2003, Khashoggi’s writing was deemed too critical of Saudi Arabia’s clerical establishment, and he was fired.
Upon his termination, Khashoggi moved to the United States and continued criticism of his home country in a column for the Washington Post. He had repeatedly stated that he would not return to Saudi Arabia because the country did not guarantee the same degree of freedom of the press.
However, on September 28, Khashoggi returned the Saudi Arabia consulate of Istanbul to file a document to certify his divorce with his ex-wife in order to marry his Turkish fiancee. He was instructed to return on October 2nd for the document.
On October 2nd, Jamal Khashoggi entered the consulate to retrieve the document and never returned.
According to the Washington Post, after Khashoggi’s murder, his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, stated, “He did not mind walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul because he did not believe that something bad could happen on Turkish soil.” Khashoggi was wary of conflict in his home country, but he did not anticipate being in danger on Turkish soil.
Initially, Saudi Arabia denied the death of the journalist and claimed that he left quickly after his arrival at the Saudi consulate. However, after many allegations, Saudi finally affirmed that Khashoggi was murdered by a “rogue operation” that leadership was not aware of, and vowed to punish the Saudi agents responsible for the journalist’s death.
It was revealed by a Saudi official that Khashoggi had died of in a chokehold after resisting. His body was then rolled up in a rug and disposed of. This operation resulted in the arrest of 18 Saudi nationals and the immediate firing of two senior officials, deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani.
However, Turkish sources have a different story. They supposedly possess audio and video recordings of the journalist being tortured, dismembered and finally killed. The tangible evidence has not been released yet, though the Washington Post has quoted a Turkish source who heard the tapes. As of now, it is unclear which story is factual, but many people have been more accepting of Turkish sources due to less obvious bias when providing evidence.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Faith Cheung of Richard Montgomery High School