Jamal Khashoggi
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Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi Arabian journalist and Washington Post columnist,[1] famous for his critical opinions on his country's government and gained international attention following his controversial disappearance and murder in 2018.[2]
After finishing university at Indiana State University in the United States, Khashoggi returned home to Saudi Arabia and became a journalist for various newspapers.[3] In his articles, he promoted democracy, women’s and human rights, and reforms leading to disagreements with the religious and political elites.[4] Jamal Khashoggi fled to the US to continue expressing his opinion.[5] In preparation for his planned marriage, he travelled to Istanbul to get the required paperwork at the Saudi consulate.[6] After entering the Saudi consulate, Jamal Khashoggi was killed, likely on orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.[7][2][8]
Journalistic Career
[change | change source]After finishing primary and secondary education in Saudi Arabia, Khashoggi obtained a bachelor's degree in Business Administration at Indiana State University.[3] After his studies, Khashoggi became a journalist for the Saudi newspaper Saudi Gazette.[3][9] Between 1987 and 1999, Khashoggi worked for Alsharq Alawsat, Arab News and Al Hayat.[5][3] Over that time he documented the Afghanistan War and the first Gulf War and became an expert in political Islam.
In 1999 he started working for the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan but was fired for criticising the political and religious Saudi elites.[3][10] He then became advisor to the Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom, Prince Turki Al-Faisal.[3][10] In 2007, he started working again for Al-Watan and was fired again for his liberal views.[3] Khashoggi’s 2015 initiative to start his own liberal broadcast channel based in Bahrain was immediately shut down by the government of Bahrain.[3][9]
After his exile to the United States, Khashoggi worked as an independent writer for the Washington Post and his columns were published both in English and Arabic.[5][11]
Political Views
[change | change source]Jamal Khashoggi's job as a journalist made him document the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the first Gulf War between 1979 and 1991.[3][10] He met Osama Bin Laden whom he initially supported in resisting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.[10] When Bin Laden radicalised and launched terror attacks against the United States, Khashoggi opposed the methods and ideas of Bin Laden.[10] Because of Khashoggi's link to Bin Laden, he had strong connections with Saudi officials who wanted to know what he knew.[10]
Khashoggi became a strong voice against Islamic extremism and became a believer in democracy, a free press, human rights, and fair laws.[12] He thought that giving everyone their political and civil rights could help solve problems like war and instability in the Arab world. After expressing his opinion became impossible in Saudi Arabia, he fled to the United States[5][9] to continue criticising the Saudi government, its involvement in the Yemeni Civil War and the lack of democracy and free press in the Middle East.[13]
Assassination
[change | change source]On October 2, Khashoggi travelled to Türkiye with his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, to get the paperwork for their marriage finalised. Previously, officials from the Saudi Embassy in Washington told him to pick up the necessary documents there.[3] [10]
After arriving, Khashoggi was kept hostage in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018.[14][15][16][10] According to Turkish sources, Khashoggi was then tortured[17][18][19] and killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.[20][21]
On 15 October, an inspection of the consulate, by both Saudi Arabian and Turkish officials took place and found evidence that supported the belief that Khashoggi was killed.[22]
Consequences of the Murder
[change | change source]Initially, the Saudi government denied any involvement in the murder arguing Khashoggi had left the Consulate after the meeting. 17 days after Khashoggi disappeared, the Saudi government admitted that their officials were involved in the murder.[23] Khashoggi was 49 years old when he died.[24]
In trials that happened behind closed doors, the Saudi Arabian government found eight people guilty of the murder, five of whom were given the death penalty but were later pardoned by the Saudi government.[7] [25]
Even though there was good proof that the Crown Prince himself ordered the murder, the United States and European states did not punish Saudi Arabia severely.[8]
Legacy
[change | change source]The assassination of Khashoggi sent shock waves around the world. Today, many journalists praise Khashoggi's memory and the importance of speaking out against social and political injustices. In 2018, Jamal Khashoggi was chosen Time Magazine's Person of the Year even though he already passed away.[26] He was honoured for his journalism work together with other journalists who have lost their lives because of their work.[27]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey says journalist was murdered in Saudi consulate". BBC News. 7 October 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Jamal Khashoggi: All you need to know about Saudi journalist's death". BBC. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 "Who was Jamal Khashoggi?". DAWN. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ↑ "Who was Jamal Khashoggi?". DAWN. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Khashoggi, Jamal. "About Me". JamalKhashoggi. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ↑ "Jamal Khashoggi: All you need to know about Saudi journalist's death". BBC. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Saudi Arabia: Still no justice for state-sanctioned murder of Jamal Khashoggi five years on". Amnesty International. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Richardson, Nic (June 19, 2019). "Khashoggi killing: 'Credible evidence' Saudi crown prince responsible, UN expert says". CNN.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Jamal Khashoggi: A Profile". VOA News. 19 October 2018.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 Robertson, Nic (October 10, 2018). "Jamal Khashoggi: The man who knew what crossing Mohammed Bin Salman could cost". CNN.
- ↑ Khashoggi, Jamal (October 8, 2018). "Read Jamal Khashoggi's columns for The Washington Post". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ↑ Khashoggi, Jamal (October 31, 2017). "Saudi Arabia's crown prince wants to 'crush extremists.' But he's punishing the wrong people". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ↑ Dewan, Angela (November 20, 2018). "Jamal Khashoggi's murder could be a game-changer for the Yemen war". CNN. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Journalist Detained in Saudi Consulate in Istanbul". The New York times. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ↑ Conflicting Saudi, Turkish claims on Jamal Khashoggi whereabouts, aljazeera
- ↑ Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (3 October 2018). "Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi missing after visit to consulate". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
- ↑ "Turkish police believe Saudi journalist Khashoggi was killed at consulate, sources say". DailySabah. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ↑ Coskun, Orhan. "Exclusive: Turkish police believe Saudi journalist Khashoggi was..." U.S. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ↑ "Turkish police suspect Saudi journalist Khashoggi was killed at consulate". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ↑ "Turkish police believe Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at consulate: Sources, Middle East News & Top Stories - The Straits Times". 6 October 2018. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Turkey concludes Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed by 'murder' team, sources say". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ↑ "Turkish prosecutors 'find evidence of Jamal Khashoggi killing'". www.aljazeera.com.
- ↑ "Jamal Khashoggi: The columns he wrote anonymously for Middle East Eye". Middle East Eye. October 22, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ↑ Hubbard, Ben. "Jamal Khashoggi Is Dead, Saudi Arabia Says". New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
- ↑ Batrawy, Aya (December 7, 2020). "Saudi court issues final verdicts in Khashoggi killing". Associated Press. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vick, Karl (2018). "The Guardians and the War on Truth". Time Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ↑ Durkin, Erin (December 12, 2018). "Time magazine names Jamal Khashoggi and persecuted journalists 'person of the year'". The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
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