Saudi Expats Launch Opposition Party on Anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi's Death

THE GUARDIAN: National Assembly party aims at creation of representative government in Saudi Arabia

A group of intellectual Saudi Arabian expatriates have launched an opposition party on the second anniversary of the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

The aim of the National Assembly party is to gather the support of people inside and outside Saudi Arabia for the formation of a representative government, which would be the first elected democratic institution inside the country since its birth 90 years ago.

Madawi al-Rasheed, a scholar and party co-founder, said the party’s leaders were “already being bombarded by threats, including threats of beheading, since we violated the taboo of uttering the words democracy and political party”.

Rasheed said the new non-sectarian party would try to show how claims by the powerful Saudi crown prince and heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman – that the country was modernising – were a sham, and that total obedience to the royal family was still demanded.

Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Friday, October 2, 2020

Kingdom of Silence: 2 Years after Khashoggi Murder, New Film Explores Deadly US-Saudi Alliance

Two years ago, in a story that shocked the world, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul for marriage documents and was never seen again. It was later revealed that Khashoggi — a Saudi insider turned critic and Washington Post columnist — was murdered and dismembered by a team of Saudi agents at the direct order of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. We speak with a friend of Khashoggi and with the director of a new documentary, “Kingdom of Silence,” that tracks not only Khashoggi’s brutal murder and the rise of MBS, but also the decades-long alliance between the United States and Saudi Arabia. “What drew me into this story is Jamal was one of our own,” says director Rick Rowley. “When one of our colleagues is killed, it falls on all of us as journalists to try to do what we can to rescue their story from the forces that would impose silence on it.”

Kristof: Trump Bragging about Protecting Saudi Crown Prince over Khashoggi’s Murder Breaks | MSNBC

Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times, who had known Jamal Khashoggi for more than 15 years, tells Ali Velshi that he is "outraged" that Donald Trump would reportedly brag about protecting the Saudi Crown Prince after the gruesome murder of U.S. resident and American-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Aired on 09/11/2020.

Saudi Official: 'We Don't Have a History of Murdering Our Citizens' | Conflict Zone

Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, tells Conflict Zone his country is paying 'a great price' over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But he dismisses criticism from human rights groups over Riyadh's dire treatment of activists.

Khashoggi Fiancée: 'Saudi Arabia Can Get Away with Whatever It Wants'

THE GUARDIAN: Hatice Cengiz tells Guardian world has failed to punish kingdom over journalist’s murder in Turkey

The fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi has said the world has failed to hold Saudi Arabia to account over the journalist’s murder and the kingdom is being “encouraged to do whatever it wants”.

Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish scholar and activist, said the lack of meaningful global sanctions against Saudi Arabia more than a year after Khashoggi’s brutal killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, had sent a message that the kingdom “can do what it wants, and then get away with it”.

“Because these people were not punished for what they have done, and because the world has chosen to just move on, they can still do what they want,” she said. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner | Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Khashoggi Murder: Western Powers Are 'Sending the Wrong Message' | UpFront (Special Interview)

Agnes Callamard, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, who has been investigating the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi recently co-authored a report that suggests Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) hacked a mobile phone belonging to Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon and The Washington Post.

"I believe," Callamard said, "the hacking of Jeff Bezos is linked to a targeted campaign against dissidents and against anyone of strategic interest for information, communication, and public relations."

Since effectively taking control of Saudi Arabia, MBS has been ramping up the country's influence abroad. Khashoggi wrote critically about the de facto ruler for The Washington Post and in October 2018 was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Though the Saudi government has jailed and sentenced to death some of the individuals who carried out the killing, Callamard has dismissed the process as a "mockery of justice".

"The individuals that had been identified as having, at the minimum, planned and organised the killing, those individuals are walking free," Callamard explained.

Callamard laments the response by countries in the West. In the US, where Khashoggi was a resident, President Donald Trump has not been shy in expressing his admiration for MBS, saying he would be a "fool" not to conduct business with the kingdom.

"So far, the governments of the United States, of France, of the UK, have been unwilling to challenge the crown prince for his behaviours, and by so doing, they are sending the wrong message," said Callamard.

This week's special interview is with the UN's Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings, Agnes Callamard.

Fmr. Amb. Robert Jordan: Jamal Khashoggi Verdict Is ‘A Mockery of Justice’ | The Last Word | MSNBC

Top Saudi officials avoided punishment in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Robert Jordan, the former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, tells Ayman Mohyeldin that it’s impossible the officials were not involved and the Crown Prince should be held accountable. Aired on 12/23/19.

Saudi Court Sentences Five to Death for Khashoggi Killing | DW News

A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced five people to death for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The verdict also includes jail terms for three additional suspects in connection with the murder. The Saudi writer and dissident was never seen again after entering the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul last year. He was killed and reportedly dismembered inside the building, but his remains were never found. Khashoggi was a resident of the United States at the time and was known for writing critically about the Saudi royal family. It is widely believed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing.

'Mockery of Justice’ after Saudis Convict Eight over Khashoggi Killing

THE GUARDIAN: Court exonerates crown prince’s inner circle of involvement in murder of dissident journalist

Saudi Arabia has been accused of engaging in a mockery of justice by shielding the alleged masterminds of the killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after a court effectively exonerated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s inner circle of involvement in the murder.

The gruesome killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 stunned Saudi Arabia’s western allies, plunging the kingdom into its worst diplomatic crisis since the 9/11 attacks.

Five of the 11 officially unidentified men on trial were sentenced to death and three more were handed a combined 24 years in prison, the deputy public prosecutor, Shalaan bin Rajih Shalaan, told reporters in Riyadh on Monday.

The investigation also concluded that Saud al-Qahtani, one of the crown prince’s most trusted advisers, was investigated and found to have no proven involvement in Khashoggi’s death, Shalaan added.

The findings contradict the conclusion of the CIA and other western intelligence agencies that Prince Mohammed directly ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, an allegation the kingdom has strenuously denied. Qahtani, along with 16 other Saudis, was sanctioned by the US last year for his alleged role in the killing. » | Bethan McKernan, Turkey and Middle East correspondent | Monday, December 23, 2019

Former Saudi Consul-General Accused in Khashoggi Murder Case

The State Department has just announced that Mohammed Al-Otaibi - the former consul-general of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul - is accused of gross human rights violations in the murder case of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane has more from Washington, DC.

Uber CEO's Outrageous Take on Khashoggi's Death

Uber CEO’s outrageous take on Jamal Khashoggi’s death. John Iadarola and Brooke Thomas break it down on The Damage Report.

Silence Still Surrounds the Murder of My Fiancé, Jamal Khashoggi. Who Will Speak Up?

THE GUARDIAN: A year on, no action has been taken about the killing. The Trump administration has much to answer for

Exactly one year ago, I stood outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, waiting for my fiance, Jamal Khashoggi, to come out with the marriage documents we needed to begin our life together. I was optimistic, even excited. Yet I never saw Jamal again.

I did not expect to have my life transformed. I did not expect to have to alert the authorities to Jamal’s disappearance, or to find myself at the centre of a story that would shake the world. I did not expect, on a day that seemed unremarkable, to have my dreams shattered. By necessity I was put on a path, compelled to begin a campaign for justice for the man who was not only stolen from me but also taken away from those who read his work, and who admired him for his courage and his unrelenting commitment to the truth. » | Hatice Cengiz | Wednesday, October 2, 2019

MbS' Words on Khashoggi ‘An Empty Gesture’ – George Galloway

Turkish President Recep Erdogan wrote in a recent op-ed that the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi is the most influential and controversial incident of the 21st century, barring the September 11, 2011 attacks. Khashoggi’s one-year death anniversary falls on Wednesday. Former UK MP George Galloway, Khashoggi’s close friend, weighs in.

Looking Back: Interview with Jamal Khashoggi: 'Saudi Arabia is becoming One-man Rule' | November 16, 2017

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia | Full Documentary | FRONTLINE

One year after the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, FRONTLINE investigates the rise and rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) of Saudi Arabia.

In a never before seen or heard conversation featured in the documentary, the Saudi Crown Prince addresses his role in Khashoggi’s murder exclusively to FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith. Smith, who has covered the Middle East for FRONTLINE for 20 years, examines MBS's vision for the future, his handling of dissent, and his relationship with the United States.

Serious Questions Raised about Khashoggi’s Murder in Interviews with Saudi Officials | FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE asks Saudi officials how Khashoggi's murder could have been a "rogue operation."

Saudi officials maintain that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had no prior knowledge of the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

But in powerful and occasionally contentious new interviews, FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith presses high-ranking Saudi official Adel al-Jubeir about how they could come to such a conclusion while the murder is still being investigated.

Analysis: UN Rapporteur Criticises Saudi’s Khashoggi Murder Probe

Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, has criticised the Saudi Arabian investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents. Callamard, who presented her report into the killing on Wednesday, said the investigation failed to examine who may have ordered the killing, adding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, and other senior officials should be investigated over the murder. "The investigation carried out by the Saudi authorities has failed to address the chain of command," she told the UN Human Rights Council.

Trump Shrugs Off Khashoggi Killing by Ally Saudi Arabia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Trump on Sunday shrugged off the brutal dismembering of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, just days after a United Nations report described how a team of Saudi assassins called Mr. Khashoggi a “sacrificial animal” before his murder.

The U.N. report urged an F.B.I. investigation into the slaying. But in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Trump said the episode had already been thoroughly investigated. He said the Middle East is “a vicious, hostile place” and noted that Saudi Arabia is an important trading partner with the United States.

“I only say they spend $400 to $450 billion over a period of time, all money, all jobs, buying equipment,” the president told Chuck Todd, the show’s moderator. “I’m not like a fool that says, ‘We don’t want to do business with them.’ And by the way, if they don’t do business with us, you know what they do? They’ll do business with the Russians or with the Chinese.” » | Michael D. Shear | Sunday, June 23, 2019

'Joints Will Be Separated': Grim New Details of Khashoggi Murder

Last week the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman ordered the case on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi closed. But a new UN report has unearthed gruesome details based on an audio recording. Al Jazeera's Jamal ElShayyal looks at the sequence of events leading up to his death.

UN Urges Investigation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS)

A scathing report by the United Nations on the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi cites “credible evidence” as grounds for further investigation into the role that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had in the murder. RT America’s Sayeh Tavangar has more on the report.