The slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a US reporter and opponent of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He visited the Saudi Consulate in Turkey where his assassination took place on 2 October 2018.

In the following months, contradictory reports of how he expired, what happened to his body and who was blamed.

Saudi officers said that a squad of operatives sent to convince him to return to the country. They have killed the correspondent during a rogue mission. While Turkish officials said that the agents had operated on the instructions from top levels of the Saudi royal family.

Who was Jamal Khashoggi?

The slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a well-respected political journalist and analyst. He was from a privileged background who had close relations with the Saudi government at first. However, he became more opposed to government decisions, particularly Mohammed bin Salman, who in 2017, had been elected Crown Prince. Mohammed quickly became the undisputed leader of the Kingdom and promised progressive development of the traditionally conservative, petroleum-rich state. But while he was working to develop the picture internationally. Mohammed was watching brutal repression to eliminate opposition at home.

That eventually included Khashoggi. Khashoggi started to publish in The Washington Post. The columns that challenge the crown primeur’s suppression of political rights. The Kingdom did multiple efforts to censor him. He moved to another country in 2017 into a city of North Virginia in Washington. Yet Khashoggi did not feel entirely secure even outside Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authorities have stepped up supervision and have even attempted to suppress activists abroad.

How was Jamal Khashoggi killed?

The death of Jamal Khashoggi had caught the interest of the world.

On October 2, 2018, the reporter entered the Consulate to get the documentation. Those were needed to marry Hatice Cengiz, his Turkish fiancée.

However, he required to marry her fiancé a letter from the Saudi Consulate to validate his relationship status. So he attended the Consulate in late September 2018 and was told to come back to collect the documents.

This triggered an intervention chain of Saudi officials, culminating in the killing of Khashoggi and presumably led by the Crown Prince as per U.S., Turkish or UN officials. 15 Saudi personnel, also with a doctor investigative, flown on a government aeroplane to Istanbul just before Khashoggi’s death. Team members disconnected surveillance cameras from the consulate before the arrival of Khashoggi.

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Saudi Government Narrative Regarding Jamal Khashoggi

On 19 October, 2018 the Saudi government stated his death and said that he died in a consulate fight. In the almost three weeks after the disappearing of Khashoggi the Saudis made contradictory statements about the situation.

Senior Saudi officials, namely Saud al Qahtani, a strong Royal media advisor, and Ex Deputy Intelligence Director, Ahmed Al-Assiri, who were identified to have held key roles when the Khashoggi incident was planned, were previously found guilty by a Saudi court.

The Saudi Diplomat to the US informed the on 8 October that the killing of Khashoggi and its assassination an “unmistakable” for consulate employees.

On 11 October, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV network announced that the 15 men had not been sent to Istanbul to capture or kill the slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but only to visit.

What does Turkey think happened? 

Turkish authorities said in the days leading up to the massacre, a team of 15 Saudi agents, with three intelligence analysts helped, landed in Istanbul and disabled security cameras and cctv footages from the consulates before the entry of Khashoggi.

The prosecutor’s office of Istanbul, Irfan Fidan, said the journalist was choked to death almost immediately after entering the consulate, with his body demolished.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote in the Leading Newspaper on 2 November. It was reported that Khashoggi was “murdered by the paramilitary group in colder blood” and “his assassination was meticulously planned.”

Mr Erdogan said he learned Khashoggi’s orders to die “came from the Saudi government’s upper ranks. But he did not imagine, for a moment, that King Salman, ordered the attack.

Sons of Khashoggi ‘forgive’ killers

In 2020, the Jamal Khashoggi family forgave its Saudi murderers on Friday. Khashoggi’s murder for an action, casting a nucleus of doubt over the prince of the country. It was confirmed by the family of assassinated Jamal Khashoggi.

Salah Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian resident secured funding from the Royal Court for his dad’s murder. He clarified during the last night of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan forgiving was provided to the murderers. It was according to Islamic Custom in the situations permitted under Islamic rule.

Khashoggi’s fiancée Blamed Saudi Crown Prince

The Prince authorized of the assassinations and Washington placed penalties on some people – but Prince Mohammad himself – on a report by the US intelligence on Friday. The Saudi government, which refused the Crown Prince any participation, dismissed the conclusions of the survey.

Hatice Cengiz said on Twitter, “It’s important for the crown prince to be prosecuted immediately. “If the crown prince is not sentenced. The key killer would be able to get away with the killing that would threaten all of us and discredit our morals.”

What is the latest study on public intelligence?

The two-page overview published Friday 26th February was prepared by the Office of the National Intelligence Director and is a discussion of the findings of the entire Intelligence services. It focuses on the CIA evaluation published a month after the murder of Khashoggi, which concluded Mohammed bin Salman possibly ordered the killing.

The latest study concluded that a plot that escalated to Khashoggi’s death was adopted by the Crown Prince. It is rooted in many areas, such as the direct power of statement in Muhammad bin Salman’s kingdom, the presence of his high-ranking aid workers and intelligence agents through his help in using aggressive actions in order to suppress foreign critics like Khashoggi.

Final Word

The murder of Khashoggi has been criticized globally and has brought about a regional conflict between Saudi Arabia and many of its most important allies, such as the United States.

Following the Saudis’ assassination, then President Donald Trump defined it as the “terrible handle in history.” But he advocated US relations to a largest trading partner, the Saudi Kingdom.

Legislators in Congress, pointing the finger at Prince Mohammed, were generally deriding this reaction.

The U.S. media reports indicate that, voice tapes tell that Prince Mohammed ordered the assassination of Khashoggi.