Khashoggis änka om bin Salmans besök: ”Smärtsamt”

On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, was killed by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi operatives. His body was dismembered and disposed of in some way that was never publicly revealed. The consulate had been secretly bugged by the Turkish government and Khashoggi's final moments were captured in audio recordings, transcripts of which were subsequently made public. The New York Times reported in June 2019 that Saudi government engaged in an extensive effort to cover up the killing, including destroying evidence. By 16 October, separate investigations by Turkish officials and The New York Times had concluded that the murder was premeditated and that some members of the Saudi hit team were closely connected to Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. 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, but denied that the killing took place on the orders of bin Salman. Bin Salman said he accepted responsibility for the killing "because it happened under my watch" but asserted that he did not order it. By November 2018, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had concluded that bin Salman had ordered the murder. In the same month, the United States levelled sanctions against 17 Saudis over the murder, but did not sanction bin Salman himself. President Donald Trump disputed the CIA assessment, expressed support for bin Salman, stated that the investigation into Khashoggi's death had to continue, and later said "The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region." The murder prompted intense global scrutiny and criticism of the Saudi government. A report by the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation. Saudi prosecutors rejected the findings of the UN investigation and again asserted that the killing was not premeditated. In January 2019, trials began in Saudi Arabia against 11 Saudis accused of involvement in Khashoggi's murder. In December 2019, following secretive proceedings, three defendants were acquitted; five were sentenced to death; and three others were sentenced to prison. Two of the acquitted defendants, Saud al-Qahtani and Ahmed al-Asiri, were high-level Saudi security officials. The five men sentenced to death were low-level participants and were pardoned in May 2020 by Khashoggi's children. The results of the trial were criticized by Agnès Callamard, then-UN special rapporteur who investigated the murder.