It has only been a month since I last saw him. Now he is missing, presumed dead. The last anyone has heard from prominent Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was when Saudi Arabia lured him into their embassy in Turkey last week. It seems he was then murdered by a Saudi hit team at the behest of the Saudi government.
Members of Congress and the media are crying out for answers and accountability but, so far, the State Department has politely “requested information” and said it is “closely following” the case. Where is the outrage? Senator Chris Murphy summed it up perfectly: “If this is true — that the Saudis lured a U.S. resident into their consulate and murdered him — it should represent a fundamental break in our relationship with Saudi Arabia.”
We agree and we are turning up the heat to demand justice for our colleague. Add your name to our petition to the State Department: If the Saudis are indeed guilty of Jamal’s murder, the U.S. must recall the senior government official at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia and take immediate measures to sanction this regime.
Turkish investigators have leaked that they believe happened: A 15-person hit team was sent from Saudi Arabia to Turkey to get rid of Jamal Khashoggi. They knew he would be entering the consulate to get paperwork he needed for his marriage. With his fiance waiting outside, he went into the consulate and never came out — alive, that is. Turkish officials speculate that his body was cut to pieces and removed in diplomatic boxes!
It is outrageous that the U.S. maintains a special relationship with the Saudi regime. Saudi-led bombings of Yemen have created the worst humanitarian catastrophe on earth, yet the US continues to sell them weapons and refuel their jets in mid-air. Recently, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even gave a renewed stamp of approval to the Saudi war on Yemen. So far, the State Department is quiet about what appears to be a brutal murder of a Washington Post journalist. This is outrageous.
We send our condolences to Jamal’s finance, and all his family and friends. Please help us demand justice and accountability for his murder.
In sorrow,
Medea
P.S. Catch me tomorrow on Democracy Now 8 am ET talking about Jamal. If you are in D.C. on Wednesday, please join me to deliver these signatures to the State Department and protest in front of the Saudi embassy.