Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi

Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi

On 2 October 2018, <a href="/en/Jamal_Khashoggi" title="Jamal Khashoggi" class="wl">Jamal Khashoggi</a>, a Saudi <a href="/en/Dissident" title="Dissident" class="wl">dissident</a> journalist was assassinated by agents of the <a href="/en/Saudi_government" title="Saudi government" class="mw-redirect wl">Saudi government</a> at the Saudi <a href="/en/Consul_(representative)" title="Consul (representative)" class="wl">consulate</a> in <a href="/en/Istanbul" title="Istanbul" class="wl">Istanbul</a>, Turkey.<a href="#cite_note-nytasassination-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a><a href="#cite_note-bbcsaudi-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a> Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi assassins.<a href="#cite_note-Sakelaris-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a><a href="#cite_note-KirkpatrickCumming-Bruce-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a> His body was dismembered and disposed of.<a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;">[8]</a> Khashoggi's final moments were captured in audio recordings, transcripts of which were subsequently made public.<a href="#cite_note-Sakelaris-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a><a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;">[9]</a>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">2018 murder in Istanbul, Turkie</div>

<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn">Quick facts: Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, Location, C... ▼</header> <table class="infobox vevent mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above summary" style="font-size:125%;">Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><a href="/en/File:Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_(cropped).jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_(cropped).jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="1430" data-file-height="2002" data-file-type="bitmap" height="308" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg/330px-Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg/440px-Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x" alt="Jamal_Khashoggi_in_March_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg"></a><div class="infobox-caption">Jamal Khashoggi in March 2018</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r997900035" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .locmap .od{position:absolute}.mw-parser-output .locmap .id{position:absolute;line-height:0}.mw-parser-output .locmap .l0{font-size:0;position:absolute}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pv{line-height:110%;position:absolute;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pl{line-height:110%;position:absolute;top:-0.75em;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pr{line-height:110%;position:absolute;top:-0.75em;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pv>div{display:inline;padding:1px}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pl>div{display:inline;padding:1px;float:right}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pr>div{display:inline;padding:1px;float:left}</style><div class="center"><div class="locmap" style="width:240px;float:none;clear:both;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"><div style="width:240px;padding:0"><div style="position:relative;width:240px"><a href="/en/File:Location_map_Istanbul.png" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" title="Location of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul" data-hash="File:Location_map_Istanbul.png"><img loading="lazy"alt="Location of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Location_map_Istanbul.png/240px-Location_map_Istanbul.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="773" data-file-height="625" data-file-type="bitmap" height="194" width="240" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Location_map_Istanbul.png/360px-Location_map_Istanbul.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Location_map_Istanbul.png/480px-Location_map_Istanbul.png 2x"></a><div class="od" style="top:27.138%;left:61.939%"><div class="id" style="left:-4px;top:-4px"><img loading="lazy"alt="Location of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="64" data-file-height="64" data-file-type="drawing" height="8" width="8" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/12px-Red_pog.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/16px-Red_pog.svg.png 2x"></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="infobox-caption">Location of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where the assassination took place<a href="#cite_note-cia-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Location</th><td class="infobox-data location">Saudi consulate in <a href="/en/Istanbul" title="Istanbul" class="wl">Istanbul</a>, Turkey</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Geographic_coordinate_system" title="Geographic coordinate system" class="wl">Coordinates</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1073938472" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><a rel="mw:ExtLink" href="//geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Assassination_of_Jamal_Khashoggi&amp;params=41.0860_N_29.0121_E_" class="external text" target="_blank">41.0860°N 29.0121°E﻿ / 41.0860; 29.0121</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Date</th><td class="infobox-data">2&nbsp;October&nbsp;2018&nbsp;(2018-10-02) Some time after 1 p.m. (<a href="/en/Time_in_Turkey" title="Time in Turkey" class="wl">TRT</a>), when Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate<a href="#cite_note-cia-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a><a href="#cite_note-NDTV_Fiancee-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Victim</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Jamal_Khashoggi" title="Jamal Khashoggi" class="wl">Jamal Khashoggi</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Motive</th><td class="infobox-data">Allegedly to remove a prominent dissident and critic of the Saudi government<a href="#cite_note-cia-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a><a href="#cite_note-Washington_Post_6_October_2018-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Convicted</th><td class="infobox-data">For murder: Fahad Shabib Albalawi Turki Muserref Alshehri Waleed Abdullah Alshehri Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb <a href="/en/Salah_Mohammed_al-Tubaigy" title="Salah Mohammed al-Tubaigy" class="mw-redirect wl">Salah Mohammed Tubaigy</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Verdict</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Capital_punishment_in_Saudi_Arabia" title="Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia" class="wl">Death</a> for murder: five persons 
 Imprisonment for cover-up of the murder: three other persons</td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'>Close ▲</footer></div>

The Saudi government engaged in an extensive effort to <a href="/en/Cover_up" title="Cover up" class="mw-redirect wl">cover up</a> the killing, including <a href="/en/Destroying_evidence" title="Destroying evidence" class="mw-redirect wl">destroying evidence</a>.<a href="#cite_note-KirkpatrickCumming-Bruce-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a> By 16 October, separate investigations by Turkish officials and <a href="/en/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" class="wl">The New York Times</a> had concluded that the murder was premeditated and that some members of the Saudi hit team were closely connected to <a href="/en/Mohammed_bin_Salman" title="Mohammed bin Salman" class="wl">Mohammed bin Salman</a>, the <a href="/en/Crown_Prince_of_Saudi_Arabia" title="Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia" class="wl">crown prince of Saudi Arabia</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Hubbard-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;">[10]</a>

After repeatedly shifting its account of what happened to Khashoggi in the days following the killing, the Saudi government admitted on 25 October that he had been killed in a <a href="/en/Premeditated_murder" title="Premeditated murder" class="mw-redirect wl">premeditated murder</a>,<a href="#cite_note-admission-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 11;">[11]</a><a href="#cite_note-BBC_murder_fox-12" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 12;">[12]</a> but denied that the killing took place on the orders of bin Salman.<a href="#cite_note-admission-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 11;">[11]</a><a href="#cite_note-fivedeathsentence-13" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 13;">[13]</a><a href="#cite_note-fiveexecute-14" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 14;">[14]</a> Bin Salman said he accepted responsibility for the killing "because it happened under my watch" but asserted that he did not order it.<a href="#cite_note-Sakelaris-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a>

By November 2018, the <a href="/en/Central_Intelligence_Agency" title="Central Intelligence Agency" class="wl">Central Intelligence Agency</a> of the United States had concluded that bin Salman had ordered the assassination.<a href="#cite_note-cia-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> In the same month, the United States levelled sanctions against 17 Saudis over the murder, but did not sanction bin Salman himself.<a href="#cite_note-15" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 15;">[15]</a> U.S. President <a href="/en/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" class="wl">Donald Trump</a> disputed the CIA assessment, expressed support for bin Salman, and stated that the investigation into Khashoggi's death had to continue.<a href="#cite_note-nov20-16" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 16;">[16]</a>

The murder prompted intense global scrutiny and criticism of the Saudi government.<a href="#cite_note-RashadHosenball-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a> A report by the <a href="/en/United_Nations_special_rapporteur" title="United Nations special rapporteur" class="wl">United Nations special rapporteur</a> on <a href="/en/Extrajudicial_executions" title="Extrajudicial executions" class="mw-redirect wl">extrajudicial executions</a> in June 2019 concluded that Khashoggi's murder was premeditated and called for a criminal investigation by the UN and, because Khashoggi was a resident of the United States, the US <a href="/en/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation" title="Federal Bureau of Investigation" class="wl">Federal Bureau of Investigation</a>.<a href="#cite_note-KirkpatrickCumming-Bruce-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-RashadHosenball-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a> Saudi prosecutors rejected the findings of the UN investigation and asserted that the killing was not premeditated.<a href="#cite_note-RashadHosenball-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a>

In January 2019, trials began in Saudi Arabia against 11 Saudis accused of involvement in Khashoggi's murder.<a href="#cite_note-18" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 18;">[18]</a><a href="#cite_note-RashadHosenball-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a> In December 2019, following secretive proceedings, three defendants were acquitted; five were sentenced to <a href="/en/Capital_punishment_in_Saudi_Arabia" title="Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia" class="wl">death</a>; and three others were sentenced to prison.<a href="#cite_note-RashadHosenball-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a> Two of the acquitted defendants, <a href="/en/Saud_al-Qahtani" title="Saud al-Qahtani" class="wl">Saud al-Qahtani</a> and <a href="/en/Ahmad_Asiri_(general)" title="Ahmad Asiri (general)" class="wl">Ahmed al-Asiri</a>, were high-level Saudi security officials. The five men sentenced to death were low-level participants and were legally pardoned in May 2020 by Khashoggi's children.<a href="#cite_note-RashadHosenball-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a><a href="#cite_note-:0-19" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 19;">[19]</a> The results of the trial were criticized by the international community.<a href="#cite_note-RashadHosenball-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a>

On 18 November 2022, the <a href="/en/Presidency_of_Joe_Biden" title="Presidency of Joe Biden" class="wl">Biden administration</a> provided a legal opinion that Saudi crown prince <a href="/en/Mohammed_bin_Salman" title="Mohammed bin Salman" class="wl">Mohammed bin Salman</a> holds <a href="/en/Immunity_from_prosecution_(international_law)" title="Immunity from prosecution (international law)" class="wl">immunity</a> over his alleged role in the assassination of Khashoggi. The federal judge deciding a lawsuit had invited the administration's opinion. The Biden administration said that the <a href="/en/United_States_Department_of_State" title="United States Department of State" class="wl">State Department</a> was offering this opinion "under longstanding and well-established principles of customary international law" unrelated to "the merits of the case". Khashoggi's former fiancee Hatice Cengiz condemned the opinion, stating her feelings that "Jamal died again today" and that the U.S. government was choosing "money" over "justice".<a href="#cite_note-20" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 20;">[20]</a> <a href="/en/Amnesty_International" title="Amnesty International" class="wl">Amnesty International</a> called the opinion a "deep betrayal" that "suggests shady deals made throughout."<a href="#cite_note-21" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 21;">[21]</a> On 6 December, the judge dismissed the lawsuit.<a href="#cite_note-22" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 22;">[22]</a>

On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist was assassinated by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. The Saudi government engaged in an extensive effort to cover up the killing, including destroying evidence. After repeatedly shifting its account of what happened to Khashoggi in the days following the killing, the Saudi government admitted on 25 October that he had been killed in a premeditated murder, 