Summary 1: Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi was murdered in October of
2018. Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain marriage
paperwork that would allow him to marry his Turkish fiancé. Khashoggi had initially visited the
consulate in September of 2018 but was told he must return at a later date to pick up the
necessary paperwork. On October 2, Khashoggi and his fiancé returned to the consulate.
Khashoggi ventured inside only to never return as his fiancé waited outside for him for more
than 10 hours. Immediately following the inquisition into Khashoggi’s disappearance, Saudi
Arabian officials denied knowing anything about the situation. A couple of weeks later their
story then morphed into Khashoggi being accidently killed during a struggle after resisting
efforts to return him to his native country. Investigators concluded that he was restrained and
drugged leading to a fatal overdose. Khashoggi was then dismembered and disposed of. At least
5 individuals have confessed to the crime and denied the crowned prince’s involvement. In
response, Saudi Arabia held their own trial, behind closed doors, which concluded in 5 of the
defendants being sentenced to 20 years in prison, 3 others to 7-10 years, others were relieved
of their positions or acquitted. Turkish findings indicate that Khashoggi was strangled almost
immediately upon entry by a team of Saudi Agents who arrived a few days prior to tamper with
security cameras and surveillance systems. There were also recordings that were not able to be
authenticated released displaying Saudi officials discussing how Khashoggi will be anesthetized,
dismembered, and describing him as a sacrificial animal. Following this evidence multiple of the
nation’s western allies have imposed sanctions on the suspected agents. No sanctions or bans
have been placed on the prince himself, but the state has lost at least 3 arms deals with
European nations since the assassination.
Summary 2: In 2018, internationally recognized Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered
and dismembered by government agents in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey. A U.S
intelligence investigation has concluded that the Crowned Prince commonly referred to as
M.B.S, ordered the assassination of Khashoggi. The prince denies having any prior knowledge of
the ploy yet has accepted responsibility for it as the nation’s unofficial leader. M.B.S is not yet
the official ruler of Saudi Arabia, yet he wields a considerable amount of power and influence as
the nation’s de facto ruler. Recently, the Biden administration administered a recommendation
to grant M.B.S with immunity in the current suit brought against him. Other than imposing
sanctions and visa bans against the agents responsible no true punishment has been served at
this time.
Summary 3 : Assassinated journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée has been working with lawyer,
Keith Harper, following her fiancé’s death. In 2020 the pair sued the Crowned Prince of Saudi
Arabia on charges of conspiring with premeditation to kidnap, torture and murder Jamal
Khashoggi. The prince’s lawyer did not argue that no such act had been committed, but rather
that the plaintiffs had no legal grounds to file the suit. The judge of the case asked for the Biden
administration to weigh in and voice if the prince should be regarded as a head of state. The
administration sided with the crowned prince agreeing that he should be regarded as a head of
state just days after his appointment as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. Most speculate the
appointment was orchestrated by the crown prince’s father in an attempt to get immunity
extended to the prince as the position is typically concurrently held by the king.
Harper filed a lengthy court proceeding urging the judge to deny the Biden administrations’
recommendation to grant the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia sovereign immunity. If the judge
sides with the recommendation the case will likely be dismissed. The parties are set to meet in
Washington in early December to settle the matter.
The assassination of Jamal Khashoggi connects very closely to our discussions of international
law and its legitimacy. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has been able to avoid any direct
repercussions due to uncertainty surrounding his rights to immunity which were later granted
by the US. The authenticity of international law’s ability to bring people to justice is severely
challenged in this case. Not only was the orderer of the hit able to bypass consequences due to
legal courtesies, the agents who carried out the order have faced little to no repercussions. The
Saudi Arabian agents were sentenced in absentia with no real way for the Turkish government
to force them to answer for their crimes. In more recent developments the trial was
transferred to Saudi Arabia where most of the accused and convicted have already been
pardoned. Despite disproval of the decision from prominent international courts the transfer
occurred anyway. The Saudi Arabian case was held, behind closed doors and without the
release of the identities of all of the agents. This case has led many to question the necessity of
international legal courts and trials in situations such as these when there are so many legal
protections in place to preserve international diplomacy.
Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination establishes an unfavorable precedent. It shows that political
leaders’ behaviors are largely unchecked as far as actions against their own people. The manner
in which the assassination took place shows the comfort in which the Crown Prince of Saudi
Arabia felt in being able to escape consequence. Khashoggi was a well-known dissident that
was highly critical of the Saudi government, making them the most likely suspect if anything
were to happen to him. Not only was the motive clear, but the inconspicuous manner in which
a man walked into a consulate for a marriage certificate only to never come out again shows a
blatant disregard for repercussions. The attorney general of Saudi Arabia confessed that the
killing was premediated as well as Turkish courts concluding that Khashoggi was murdered by
Saudi Arabian agents proven by witness statements and the mobile phone records of suspects.
Even after the courts decided, there has still been no justice served. The primary suspects were
sentenced in absentia and Saudi Arabia refused to extradite the suspects. In early 2022, the
Turkish court ordered that the trial be transferred back to Saudi Arabia even though most of
the suspects had already been acquitted of any wrongdoing. The most consequence any of the
condemned face that can be proven was a removal from their royal post. This trial makes a
mockery of international law, and the justice people hope can be achieved when political
leaders reign unchecked. The facts of the crime have been proven and admitted yet no true
justice has been found for Khashoggis fiancée or family. This establishes the precedent that
political leaders are above reproach when committing heinous crimes. Diplomatic immunity
rights granted by the US, protect the Crown Prince from any direct repercussions, making any
punishment for the ordered hit entirely voluntary and extremely unlikely for the foreseeable
future.
Article 1: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45812399
Article 2: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/us/politics/us-saudi-mbs-khashoggimurder.html?searchResultPosition=1
Article 3: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/30/mohammed-bin-salmankhashoggi-manipulate-us-court-system