Jamal Khashoggi: 4 questions to understand the case of the journalist whose death targets Saudi Arabia – BBC News



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Development Internet

20.10.2018

October 2 Jamal Khashoggi, journalist and well-known critic of the Saudi government, entered the consulate of 1945. his country in Istanbul, for a procedure.

We never see him again.

For more than two weeks, the Riyadh version was that the editorial writer of The Washington Post had left the consulate.

But the Turkish authorities claimed to have evidence that he had been killed by several Saudi agents .

Turkish officials disclosed an alleged cbadette made at the consulate indicating the acts of torture, slaughter and dismemberment of the dissident journalist, which provoked a wave of indignation around the world and serious problems for Riyadh.

And this Friday Saudi Arabia published the version of the journalist aged 59 years. of age, died "in a stormy fight".

Saudi authorities also reported that King Salman bin Abdulaziz had fired the deputy intelligence chief, Ahmed al-Assiri, and indicated that the investigation was still open. 19659006] BBC Mundo summarizes the key points of the case and explains why it generated this international crisis.

1. Who was Jamal Khashoggi?

Khashoggi was a renowned journalist who had covered for several Saudi media important events in the region, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or the rise of Osama bin Laden.

For years, it was perceived as close to the royal family and even counsel of senior officers.

After the arrest of several of his friends during the purges initiated by the Crown Prince ] Mohammed bin Salman his chronicle in the newspaper al-Hayat was rescinded and it was reported that he had been informed that he was not continuing to publish his opinions on Twitter.

  Khashoggi

The current year In the past, Khashoggi decided to exile in the United States. He wrote a monthly column in the newspaper The Washington Post in which he criticized the policies of Prince B in Salman . [19659006] "I left my house, my family and my job, and I raise my voice Not doing it would betray those who languish in jail, I can speak while so many others can not, "he writes. in September 2017.

In his first chronicle for the American newspaper, Khashoggi acknowledged that he feared to be arrested because of harsh measures taken against government critics ordered by the Prince after King Salman, his father. , will appoint his successor in 2017.

"The people who are arrested are not even dissidents, s or have an independent spirit" Khashoggi told the program. Newshour BBC Three A few days before his disappearance, while he was in London to attend a conference.

In the interview, he also stated that he did not think that "he could one day be able to return to his country".

2. How did he disappear?

Khashoggi went to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul for the first time on September 28 to obtain a document certifying that he had divorced his ex-wife, but he did not go to court. is seen to order to come back another day.

The journalist made an appointment to return on on Tuesday, October 2 . On that day, he arrived at the consulate at 1:14 pm local time to attend the scheduled meeting at 1:30 pm

  Consulate

According to several sources, the journalist reportedly told several friends who 39, had treated "very kindly" during his first visit, he badured them that he would not encounter any problem on this second occasion.

Despite this, he gave his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, two cell phones, asking him to call an adviser to the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, if he did not return of the consulate .

That day, the woman waited more than 10 hours outside the building and returned the next morning looking for Khashoggi, who still did not appear. 19659011] 3. What are the theories about his death?

Versions vary by source.

The Turkish authorities claim that the journalist was tortured and murdered inside the consulate by a team of Saudi agents and that his body was subsequently removed from the scene.

A Turkish security source told the BBC that she had audio and video evidence to support this claim

Another source described the recording in the newspaper ] The . ] Washington Post : "You can hear his voice and that of men who speak Arabic, you can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then killed."

  Consulate

The pro-government Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak also published details of audio recordings that show that Khashoggi was tortured.

The newspaper states that the consul of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed al Otaibi, could have heard one of these tapes. Dole to the supposed Saudi agents: "Do this, they will get me into trouble."

Other Turkish media claim to have identified a team of 15 alleged Saudi agents who entered and left Istanbul on the day of the disappearance.

The BBC has evidence of the existence of Maher Mutreb, one of the men, was a colonel of Saudi intelligence services and was based at the London Embbady in London.

The Journal The The New York Times ] for its part reported that four of the men had ties to the Saudi Crown Prince and another figure of the Ministry of the Interior.

  CCTV footage of the Khashoggi case

Turkish television broadcast footage of security cameras showing groups of Saudi men entering the country through the airport Istanbul, then registered in two hotels located near the consulate building.

ulos, including black trucks, who go to the consulate an hour before Khashoggi's visit

According to Turkish investigators, the group of alleged agents allegedly left Turkey in both planes The private sector in which they arrived to Riyadh via Cairo and Dubai

In the beginning, Saudi Arabia denied all these versions and insisted that the journalist had left the consulate.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman pointed to Bloomberg News . that his government was " impatient to know what had happened " with Khashoggi and badured that the journalist had left the consulate "after a few minutes or an hour".

"We have nothing to hide," adds a Saudi prince.

  Saudi Arabia

However, after increasing international pressure, the prosecutor's office finally acknowledged Friday (October 19th) that the journalist had died inside the consulate.

The Saudi prosecutor announced that a first investigation had revealed that Khashoggi died after "a violent brawl" at the consulate, without giving further details.

In addition, he reported that the Saudi king fired the deputy intelligence chief, Ahmed al-Assiri, and announced that 18 suspects had been arrested as a result of the investigation.

According to information broadcast on state television, the Saudi government has set up a commission to investigate the facts and who will integrate them. National Security Officials, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of the Interior.

The King of Saudi Arabia also orders the establishment of a ministerial committee charged with restructuring the intelligence services under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin. Salman, who already has control of most of the country's powers.

4.

Since the announcement of the disappearance of the journalist, diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia has been strengthened and several governments around the world have asked this country to explain what is happening. ;has pbaded.

A conference on investment organized by Saudi Arabia, the so-called "Davos of the desert", organized by the prince to promote his reform program from 23 to 25 October, seemed ready . following the disappearance of Khashoggi

  Hatice Cengiz
The journalist's girlfriend waited more than 10 hours outside the consulate and returned the next morning, while Khashoggi was not yet arrival.

] Many sponsors have withdrawn and have also canceled their participation in the ministers of events in several countries, including US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and the British International Trade Trust, Liam Fox.

Prior to the confirmation of the death of the journalist by Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump, who forged close ties with the Saudi Crown Prince, claimed that the United States could be forced to Impose a "severe penalty" if it was discovered that the kingdom was responsible for the death of Khashoggi.

However, Trump has ruled out any suspension of the huge arms sales contracts he maintains.

Critics say that for a long time the West has "turned a blind eye to" human rights violations in Saudi Arabia .

It remains to be seen whether the case of Khashoggi will change this situation.


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