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Singularity
10-10-2018, 04:20 PM
https://www.yahoo.com/news/missing-s...035124244.html


World
Missing Saudi journalist's fiancee asks for Trump's help
AFP AFP 11 hours ago
Hatice Cengiz says her missing fiance Jamal Khashoggi did not doubt his safety inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul (AFP Photo/OZAN KOSE)
Washington (AFP) - The fiancee of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Tuesday asked President Donald Trump to help uncover what happened to the Riyadh critic who she said had "been fighting for his principles".


Hatice Cengiz made the appeal in an opinion piece for The Washington Post newspaper, where Khashoggi was a columnist and an outspoken critic of some of Riyadh's policies.


A veteran journalist, Khashoggi disappeared on October 2 after entering Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul to arrange paperwork for his wedding to Cengiz, a Turk.


Government sources in Turkey said police believe the 59-year-old was killed inside the consulate, claims which Riyadh dismissed as "baseless".


Cengiz wrote that she was "confident in the abilities of Turkish government officials."


"At this time, I implore President Trump and first lady Melania Trump to help shed light on Jamal's disappearance," she said.


"I also urge Saudi Arabia, especially King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to show the same level of sensitivity and release CCTV footage from the consulate," Cengiz wrote.


Trump on Monday expressed concern about Khashoggi's case and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a thorough investigation.


Turkish police were also looking into the possibility that Khashoggi was kidnapped, local media reported.


Riyadh has said Khashoggi left the consulate after his visit.


Although Khashoggi knew that his opinions had angered certain people, he entered the consulate "without doubting he would be safe there," his fiancee wrote, but after three hours of waiting "fear and concern" overcame her.


Khashoggi had fled his homeland in September last year and had been living in self-imposed exile in the United States, where he had applied for US citizenship, Cengiz said.


A former Saudi government advisor, Khashoggi has been openly critical of Prince Mohammed, accusing him of introducing a new era of "fear, intimidation, arrests and public shaming."


Cengiz wrote she remains confident that the "great man" is still alive, "although my hope slowly fades away each passing day."
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سيف الله
10-11-2018, 09:27 PM
Salaam

Trump responds

Blurb

President Donald Trump revealed that First Lady Melania Trump has joined the effort to 'get to the bottom' of what happened to missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump commented Wednesday on the disappearance of Khashoggi, calling it a 'very sad situation' and a 'very bad situation.' National Security Advisor John Bolton and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner spoke to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Tuesday.

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Singularity
10-12-2018, 06:26 AM
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0b27cf47a62ba

WORLD NEWS 10/10/2018 09:11 pm ET Updated 1 day ago
Saudi Crown Prince Ordered Effort To Bring Jamal Khashoggi Back To Saudi Arabia: Report
U.S. officials told The Washington Post that Mohammed bin Salman, the heir to the Saudi throne, was directly implicated in the journalist’s disappearance.
headshot
By Nick Visser
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally ordered an effort to lure Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi back to his home country, according to U.S. intelligence documents described to The Washington Post on Wednesday.

The report adds new detail to Khashoggi’s disappearance, directly implicating the crown prince, who is notably close to President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Turkish authorities said they believed that Khashoggi, a former insider who grew increasingly critical of the Saudi royal family, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week and his body removed from the premises.

There was a detailed plan to entice Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia, according to the Post, which cites intelligence documents outlined by U.S. officials. Crown Prince Mohammed reportedly offered Khashoggi government protection and a high-level job if he returned to the country, an offer the journalist was deeply skeptical of.

“He said: ‘Are you kidding? I don’t trust them one bit,’” Khaled Saffuri, who spoke with Khashoggi in May, recounted to the Post.

This image from CCTV video obtained by the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reportedly shows Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi enter
CCTV VIA HURRIYET / ASSOCIATED PRESS
This image from CCTV video obtained by the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reportedly shows Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018.
Officials in multiple countries said that if Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate last week, it may have been because a plan to capture the man went awry, the Post reported.

Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance and said he left the consulate shortly after he entered last Tuesday. The only available CCTV footage appears to show him entering the building but not leaving.

On Tuesday, The New York Times first reported that Turkish officials believed Khashoggi was assassinated under orders from senior members of the Saudi royal court. Those unnamed officials said they believed the operation was carried out by a squad of 15 people flown into Turkey on two charter flights ― something that could only have been ordered by the country’s leadership due to its complexity and risk.

Turkish officials said the event reminded them of the film “Pulp Fiction,” and said one of the men wielded a bone saw they suspect was used to dismember the journalist’s body.

The Post later said the team reportedly laid in wait for Khashoggi to enter the building.
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سيف الله
10-12-2018, 08:23 PM
Salaam

Another update, seems MBS friends are not happy with the uncertainty.

.

More speculation.









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*charisma*
10-13-2018, 11:01 PM
Assalamu Alaikum

None of this story makes sense. I don't think anyone should believe anything they hear and it's really scary how fast these things trend as the truth, especially so when it is the West trying to pioneer "justice" and "freedom." Guantanamo bay anyone?? Truly we are nearing the end of times.
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urkahnkhan
10-14-2018, 07:28 AM
the whole story is so damn random and pushed down the throats of the public.. how many people do politically get killed yearly? or kidnapped? it's in the 100s and yet again they are talking about this incident as if we are dealing with an angel who was killed or kidnapped. I never buy into MSM hysteria and they always have an agenda but they are gettin more desparate and amaturish just spamming random stories like this
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سيف الله
10-14-2018, 07:30 AM
Salaam

Yes we all known Western governments record, there's as always a lot of smoke and mirrors, doesn't detract from the wrongness of whats happened to Jamal Khashoggi. We need to know what happened.



Can Saudi Arabia's ‘great reformer’ survive the death in the consulate?

The disappearance in Turkey of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has shaken confidence in Riyadh even among close allies


In early 2016, when Mohammed bin Salman was still deputy crown prince and Donald Trump still a contender for US president, the then 30-year-old Saudi summoned senior British officials to Riyadh to see him. He had one thing on his mind, said two of the officials present that day – how to deal with Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president’s role in the Middle East had suddenly expanded and his footprint throughout Europe and the US was growing just as rapidly. The young prince seemed curious about what the mercurial Putin had been up to: annexation, intimidation, deflection, the denial of objective facts. But he kept coming back to one question, the officials recalled: how does he get away with it? “He was fascinated by him,” one of the Britons told the Observer. “He seemed to admire him. He liked what he did.” Two years later Prince Mohammed is embroiled in a crisis unlike any other in his short, combustible time as the world’s most powerful thirtysomething. The crown prince stands accused of ordering the brutal death of a prominent critic on foreign soil – a state-sanctioned hit that is without precedent in the kingdom’s modern history, but is not quite so unknown in Russia.

The events, as described by Turkish officials, are staggering and have shaken confidence in Prince Mohammed even among his closest allies, who until the past week had been steadfast in their support for his ambitious reform programme. Turkish intelligence and senior officials insist that the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a 15-man hit squad that had arrived from Riyadh on the same day and then dismembered his body.

Ever since, authorities have sanctioned a drip-feed of leaks: of video footage showing Khashoggi entering the building on the afternoon of 2 October, the names of the 15 Saudis who arrived – all of whom were linked to the state security apparatus – and the flight logs of the private jets they flew in and out on. The jets were rented from a Riyadh company that routinely leases planes to the Saudi government.

Turkish intelligence officers have told their counterparts in the CIA that they have an audio recording and partial videotape of the moment Khashoggi was killed. They have suggested that the end of Khashoggi’s life was captured on an Apple watch he was wearing that was synced to an iPhone held by his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, waiting outside. Suspicion in western intelligence circles, however, is that the Turks had the consulate bugged. Khashoggi has not been seen since he entered the building, and Riyadh has been unable to produce evidence supporting its claim that he walked away a free man after finalising his divorce papers. Faced with evidence, Saudi officials have offered strenuous denials and deflection; this, they say, was a conspiracy led by regional foe Qatar, supported by its allies in Ankara.

The state television network Al Arabiya has even raised the Salisbury spire defence, claiming the 15 Saudis, who came and went within hours, were “tourists” – just like the Russian assassins widely accused of poisoning the Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a state-made nerve agent in the Wiltshire cathedral city.

Now nearing a third year in office, Trump, who has embraced the man known throughout Washington as MbS, has been forced into uncharacteristically cautious language when addressing the allegations, even if he warned there would be “severe punishment” for Riyadh, if it turned out that Khashoggi had indeed been killed in the consulate.

Having a robust regional voice as a bulwark against Iran has been the central plank of Trump’s foreign policy. And so far the US leader seems to view the allegations as an inconvenience, not a game changer.

Last week the US national security adviser, John Bolton, appeared to add weight to Riyadh’s conspiracy claims, suggesting that Ankara and Riyadh had long been rivals, and that some kind of “operation” might have taken place.

The Trump family’s ties to MbS extend beyond a shared view on Iran. The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has established warm personal and professional ties, as have key members of an influential US business network and the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who has spent dozens of hours with the crown prince in his royal diwan, or a tent in the desert, where he often retreats for weekends.

European officials in Riyadh and elsewhere in the region say MbS has drawn inspiration from the fact that Trump, unlike most other modern US leaders, has disavowed making humanitarian concerns a pillar of his foreign policy – and has openly embraced authoritarianism.

Trump repeatedly claims that the US no longer sets the world order – except on Iran – and has pointedly eased pressure on states that previous administrations claimed had long fallen short on human rights and governance. The result has been a vacuum in global leadership, emboldening leaders who might otherwise have checked their behaviour, a Riyadh-based western ambassador said.

“Relationships are being redefined. People know there are no limits,” the ambassador said. “If ever there was a case study of the post-fact Middle East, this is it. There is impunity all around.”

Inside the kingdom, where a crackdown on dissent has left much of society unwilling to speak publicly, there is widespread belief that Khashoggi’s disappearance was indeed a conspiracy orchestrated by its enemies. Some former security officials, however, sense that it may instead mark a crack in the new regime.

“The realignment of the [national intelligence service reporting directly to MbS] has been a disaster,” said an adviser to one such official. “It has become a hyper-political tool for the diwan … that has removed any semblance of accountability and encouraged abuse of power on a scale I have not witnessed before in modern times. There has been a broad descent into authoritarianism. The scale and pace of repression have destroyed any embryonic seeds of civil society and discourse. There really is no limit to the consequences of even polite disagreement, let alone dissent.”

With much of Turkey’s evidence against Saudi Arabia now publicly laid bare, Ankara – and Riyadh – are both turning to Washington to find a way out of a crisis with seemingly endless dimensions. Turkey on Friday agreed to a joint probe with Riyadh into what took place – an arrangement that was brokered by senior officials, suggesting power politics may end up taking precedence over the truth behind Khashoggi’s disappearance.

Turkey does not need investigative help to establish Khashoggi’s fate. Listening devices and camera footage, which it has not yet revealed, offer incriminating evidence. It does, however, need political cover to navigate a problem that could have significant trade and investment considerations.

Riyadh faces a more imminent blow to its trade agenda, with an investment conference set for 23 October at risk of a boycott from media partners and high-profile global companies, in protest at the lack of answers from Saudi officials.

“They have belatedly realised the stakes in this,” said one of the British officials at the 2016 meeting with the crown prince. “And he has been shocked to learn that the absolute power he has at home he doesn’t have abroad. Even in Turkey there are rules. Putin learned the same in the UK. And if this guy is going to survive this, he is going to be indebted to Ankara and Turkey for sparing everyone from the shocking truth.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/13/saudi-arabia-khashoggi-chulov

And come on mods, ease up.
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*charisma*
10-14-2018, 10:25 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Junon
Salaam

Yes we all known Western governments record, there's as always a lot of smoke and mirrors, doesn't detract from the wrongness of whats happened to Jamal Khashoggi. We need to know what happened.
The fact of the matter is, no we don't really need to know anything especially when it's concerning the legislation of another country. What's going to really change in your life?? Absolutely nothing.

It isn't coincidence that this story has been popularized after Canada's little tweet condemning the Kingdom's right to hold prisoners and the kingdom's response to remove themselves from canada. The hypocrisy of it all. :D


format_quote Originally Posted by urkahnkhan
the whole story is so damn random and pushed down the throats of the public.. how many people do politically get killed yearly? or kidnapped? it's in the 100s and yet again they are talking about this incident as if we are dealing with an angel who was killed or kidnapped. I never buy into MSM hysteria and they always have an agenda but they are gettin more desparate and amaturish just spamming random stories like this
Completely agree. But the sad thing is that the story just doesn't make sense, and when that happens that's a clear red flag that there are a lot of lies and speculation being pushed as truth which is terrifying.

For example, a few years ago there was a story that came out about a man getting kicked out of a festival in Riyadh for being "too handsome" ;D AS SOON AS I HEARD IT i knew it was completely false, and it turned out it was indeed completely false, but anyone who's heard this story probably still believes it to be true today because of how popular it became. It's like as soon as anyone hears anything negative about Saudi Arabia they get all giddy without even looking at hardcore facts. They're actually not even in the position to see the facts. It's like watching a game with blind eyes. You hear the ball, but you dont know who's scoring, where the ball is going, or who's even playing.
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anatolian
10-14-2018, 12:13 PM
- - - Updated - - -

format_quote Originally Posted by *charisma*
The fact of the matter is, no we don't really need to know anything especially when it's concerning the legislation of another country. What's going to really change in your life?? Absolutely nothing.

It isn't coincidence that this story has been popularized after Canada's little tweet condemning the Kingdom's right to hold prisoners and the kingdom's response to remove themselves from canada. The hypocrisy of it all. :D




Completely agree. But the sad thing is that the story just doesn't make sense, and when that happens that's a clear red flag that there are a lot of lies and speculation being pushed as truth which is terrifying.

For example, a few years ago there was a story that came out about a man getting kicked out of a festival in Riyadh for being "too handsome" ;D AS SOON AS I HEARD IT i knew it was completely false, and it turned out it was indeed completely false, but anyone who's heard this story probably still believes it to be true today because of how popular it became. It's like as soon as anyone hears anything negative about Saudi Arabia they get all giddy without even looking at hardcore facts. They're actually not even in the position to see the facts. It's like watching a game with blind eyes. You hear the ball, but you dont know who's scoring, where the ball is going, or who's even playing.
Actually we want to know regardless of whether we need or not. As long as we dont pay attention for such unlawful murders we become the slaves of the sate in place of citizents. You wont have any right one day if the same injustice is done to you or your loved ones. I feel pity for any man who is done unjust. Thats the requirement of being a human being. And with this mentality of ignoring we can never know those real actors playing background.
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سيف الله
10-14-2018, 06:02 PM
Salaam


format_quote Originally Posted by *charisma*
The fact of the matter is, no we don't really need to know anything especially when it's concerning the legislation of another country. What's going to really change in your life?? Absolutely nothing.

It isn't coincidence that this story has been popularized after Canada's little tweet condemning the Kingdom's right to hold prisoners and the kingdom's response to remove themselves from canada. The hypocrisy of it all. :D
You may take a nonchalant attitude but Id rather take a more sober attitude, I'm a purveyor of news so what happens to journalists concerns me, this is a serious problem in Pakistan. Plus actions like has intended or unintended consequences that few can predict. I'm sure the Saudis leadership couldn't predict the reaction they would receive.

Lets wait for the investigation, see what evidence is presented. Then we can make up our own minds.

Actually we want to know regardless of whether we need or not. As long as we dont pay attention for such unlawful murders we become the slaves of the sate in place of citizents. You wont have any right one day if the same injustice is done to you or your loved ones. I feel pity for any man who is done unjust. Thats the requirement of being a human being. And with this mentality of ignoring we can never know those real actors playing background.
Thanks for the dose of sanity bro, I thought we were meant to be concerned with justice, decency, fairness? If this was a Mossad operation and it was proven that Mossad were involved (beyond reasonable doubt) we would not hesitate to condemn them.
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سيف الله
10-17-2018, 05:04 AM
Salaam

Another update

Jamal Khashoggi: Trump gives Saudi benefit of doubt in Khashoggi case

US President Donald Trump has cautioned against rushing to blame Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

He told the AP news agency that Riyadh was being treated as "guilty until proven innocent".

Mr Trump also said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had denied knowing what happened to Mr Khashoggi.

Unnamed Turkish officials say a search of the Istanbul Saudi consulate gave more evidence that he was killed there.

The journalist, a critic of the Saudi leadership, was last seen alive entering the consulate on 2 October. Saudi Arabia has denied killing him and initially said he left the building unharmed.

However, the New York Times reports that four of the 15 people named by the Turkish authorities as suspects in Mr Khashoggi's disappearance have links to the crown prince, while another is a senior figure in the country's Interior Ministry.

According to the newspaper, one of the men has been photographed accompanying the royal on recent foreign visits.

The case has put Saudi Arabia under pressure from close allies.

On Tuesday, G7 foreign ministers called for Saudi Arabia to conduct a "transparent" probe into the issue.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has become the latest high-profile figure to withdraw from a major Saudi investment conference next week following Mr Khashoggi's disappearance.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is due to visit Turkey on Wednesday, following a meeting with Saudi King Salman and the crown prince on Tuesday.

What has Prince Mohammed said?

The Saudi heir apparent wields considerable power in the kingdom and is being held responsible by many outside for whatever happened to Mr Khashoggi.

Mr Trump tweeted that Prince Mohammed had spoken to him on the phone and he "totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their Turkish Consulate".

The president said he "told me that he has already started, and will rapidly expand, a full and complete investigation into this matter. Answers will be forthcoming shortly".

The phone call coincided with a visit to Saudi Arabia by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, sent there by Mr Trump to deal with the crisis in relations.

On Monday, Mr Trump speculated that "rogue killers" may have been behind the journalist's disappearance.

In a further sign of disquiet within the US, a leading Republican senator and defender of US-Saudi links, Lindsey Graham, has been highly critical of the Saudi crown prince.

"This guy's gotta go," he said on Tuesday morning on Fox News, describing Prince Mohammed as a "wrecking ball".

Reputations may be forever tainted

By Frank Gardner, BBC News


The recent, highly charged exchange of words between Washington and Riyadh now appears to have given way to a mutual search for the least bad explanation. Both countries' leaders know they have an enormous amount to lose if this affair ends up splitting apart their 73-year-old strategic partnership.

Iran, as the regional rival to Saudi Arabia, would be the prime beneficiary if the Saudis were to lose their defensive US umbrella. President Trump is also correct when he says thousands of US jobs would be lost, with China and Russia to be among those lining up to replace them.

Which begs the wider question: is the West's relationship with Saudi Arabia so important that it outweighs the need to condemn and punish what many believe was a state-sponsored murder of a journalist inside a consulate?

Hence the urgent dispatching of the US secretary of state for talks with the Saudi leadership. In private there may well be some strong words, in public both countries may want to present a united stand. But one thing is certain: whatever narrative emerges, the international reputation of the Saudi crown prince and power-behind-the-throne Mohammed Bin Salman will forever be tainted by this affair.

What is the state of investigation?

A search was due to be conducted on Tuesday of the consul's residence, some 200 metres away from the consulate.

But that has now been delayed because no Saudi official can be present for what has been billed as a joint investigation, Turkish officials say.

The consul, Mohammad al-Otaibi, left Turkey on a commercial flight bound for Saudi Arabia earlier in the day.

On the day of Mr Khashoggi's disappearance, several vehicles with Saudi diplomatic number plates were seen on video footage moving from the consulate to the residence.

Meanwhile, Turkish investigators quoted by two news agencies say Monday's search of the consulate has yielded more evidence that Mr Khashoggi was killed there.

A Turkish official is quoted by Reuters as saying "strong evidence" was found but no conclusive proof.

Turkish security sources have long made clear they have audio evidence pointing to his murder.

The search of the consulate continued into the early hours of Tuesday. Samples, including soil from the garden and a metal gate, were reportedly taken.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters the investigation "was looking into many things such as toxic materials and those materials being removed by painting them over".

The New York Times and CNN, quoting unnamed sources, reported on Monday that Saudi Arabia would acknowledge that Mr Khashoggi's death was the result of an interrogation that went wrong.

Mr Khashoggi, who has written for the Washington Post and is a US resident, arrived at the consulate at 13:14 local time on 2 October to obtain paperwork so he could marry his Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz.

Reports suggest an assault and struggle took place in the building.

Turkish sources allege he was killed by a 15-strong team of Saudi agents pictured entering and leaving Turkey on CCTV footage released to media outlets.

There are allegations in Turkish media that his body was dismembered in the building.

Mr Khashoggi was once an adviser to the Saudi royal family but fell out of favour with the country's rulers and went into self-imposed exile.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-45883174

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Singularity
10-19-2018, 03:00 AM
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0a8f17ee8e950

How The Khashoggi Scandal Looks When You’ve Been Bombed And Starved By Saudi Arabia For Years
The journalist’s disappearance triggered a massive global backlash against Saudi Arabia. Its bloody war in Yemen never has.
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By Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Global media and international decision-makers, right up to the president of the United States, have spent more than a week talking about what happened to missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and what it means for human rights and Saudi Arabia’s long-standing foreign relationships. Radhya Almutawakel has stayed focused on her own work in Yemen: carefully documenting how Saudi actions there have claimed thousands of lives, often with the aid of American weapons.

“We can’t deny that there is a sourness inside all of us, that Yemenis have been dying for years, thousands of them, and millions starving, and the reaction is not as strong as in this case,” she told HuffPost.

Almutawakel runs the best-known human rights organization in Yemen, where a U.S.-backed coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been battling an Iran-linked rebel group since 2015. The war has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis today, with over 20 million people now reliant on aid, experts predicting the biggest famine in a century, and more than 10,000 civilians killed.

Her group, Mwatana, and international organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have recorded and investigated thousands of violations of international law ― including coalition bombs killing civilians; the United Arab Emirates, a coalition member, subjecting hundreds to torture; and the Houthi rebel movement, the coalition’s opponents, planting deadly land mines and taking hostages.

The advocates’ work has only sporadically made top headlines around the world ― an irony that’s now commemorated in headlines like “How One Journalist’s Death Provoked a Backlash That Thousands Dead in Yemen Did Not.”

Better late than never, from Almutawakel’s point of view. The discrepancy in attention is sad, she said, and as a fellow critic of the Saudi regime, she feels more vulnerable seeing how far Riyadh now appears willing to go to silence dissent, potentially with international acquiescence.

But the episode has also helped her see something else: that for all its wealth and international influence, its alliances with the world’s richest countries and its massive tools of repression, Saudi Arabia is not untouchable. The world can pressure the kingdom, and it cannot act with total impunity.

People who contact her about the crisis in Yemen “keep asking what can be done,” Almutawakel said. “But now they know what can be done. They just use the power they have in their hands as civil society and media, and they make a difference.” It’s just that so far, the more powerful voices in civil society and media haven’t consistently done that for Yemen.

American lawmakers from both parties have viewed U.S. intelligence about Khashoggi and then argued that the Saudis should be held responsible for his alleged death, including through unprecedented sanctions. Major companies, most recently JP Morgan Chase and the huge media conglomerate Endeavor, have pulled back from business entanglements with the kingdom as Khashoggi’s face has remained on cable news for days. And while President Donald Trump, a supporter of the Saudi rulers, is promoting Riyadh’s denials of any role in Khashoggi’s disappearance, even he says that investigating the situation is crucial.

“Saudi Arabia is finally facing consequences for one of its crimes, which is targeting Khashoggi,” Almutawakel said. She thinks that’s in part because the kingdom has increasingly frustrated world powers with behavior like that in Yemen: “The file of violations of Saudi Arabia is getting bigger and bigger.”

As American leaders start to speak of a fundamental shift in the relationship that’s let the Saudis pummel her country, Almutawakel has a list of requests ready ― some ways in which Riyadh could be forced to improve Yemen’s situation almost immediately.

She wants the kingdom and its partners to immediately ease restrictions on travel and the import of essential food and medicine, which she described as harsh political decisions designed to get the win the Saudis seek. Saudi Arabia should also focus on re-establishing the machinery of Yemen’s government, she said. The internationally recognized president of Yemen has, under Saudi pressure, lived in Riyadh for years, and the UAE has promoted alternative leadership in areas under its control, disrupting long-standing norms and making essential interactions with the government ― say, over salaries and benefits ― more complicated.

Tucked in there too is a request that’s more personal, but also critical to any sort of accountability or normalcy in the Arab world’s poorest state. Almutawakel said the Saudi-led coalition needs to stop its harassment of Yemeni citizens at all levels, from mass arrests to the kind of detention she and a fellow researcher experienced this summer, prompting them to move to the Netherlands. She expects to be based there for a few months as she prepares to visit the U.S. to receive an award from Human Rights First. But she hopes returning to Yemen will be easier in the new year.

“It’s never too late,” Almutawakel said. “The world has proved they can do a lot.”
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anatolian
10-20-2018, 07:25 AM
Saudi Arabia finally confirms the death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying "he died in a fight" at the country’s consulate in Istanbul...That's the end of a Saudi criticizing the Saudi monarchs...Is Turkey any better? No.. Erdogan did worse when he organized the mass police oppresion towards the people when they protested him in the streets in 2013 called "Gezi Parkı" protests...8 people were killed, hundreds lost their limbs or got injured then...

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BeTheChange
10-20-2018, 01:22 PM
Obviously this is worrying but this chap is lucky he got publicity. What about the millions and millions who go missing. Kids, woman and men who have 'no names' i.e. no public awareness.
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anatolian
10-20-2018, 01:35 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by BeTheChange
Obviously this is worrying but this chap is lucky he got publicity.
This “chab” is lucky because he is killed by a squad of 15 people who came from his country? I think it doesnt matter whether you get publicity after you are dead.

format_quote Originally Posted by BeTheChange
What about the millions and millions who go missing. Kids, woman and men who have 'no names' i.e. no public awareness.
All of these stories are horrofic but inorder to enlighten all cases you must not ignore any case, even if you dont like the victim..
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سيف الله
10-23-2018, 10:52 PM
Salaam

Another update







Update - Hes been allowed to leave.

Jamal Khashoggi's son arrives in US

The son of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi has left Saudi Arabia and arrived in the United States, a source close to the family told CNN.

Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi, a dual US-Saudi citizen, had previously been unable to leave Saudi Arabia after his passport was restricted by the kingdom some months ago.

A State Department spokesman said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the Saudis to release the younger Khashoggi and deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said the US was "pleased" that he was allowed to leave the country.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/25/p...bia/index.html

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سيف الله
10-26-2018, 08:26 PM
Salaam

Another update

A voice from Saudi Arabia.



Related.

Twitter suspends bots spreading pro-Saudi tweets after Khashoggi case

Twitter has taken down a sophisticated network of bots that were pushing out thousands of tweets in support of the Saudi regime following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Hundreds of bots were suspended by the social media company on Thursday after it was alerted to fake accounts promoting messages such as “love for Mohammed bin Salman”, the kingdom's Crown Prince.

On Sunday, the Arabic hashtag that translates to "we all have trust in Mohammed bin Salman" was trending on Twitter. A number of Twitter users also noted a significant uptick in accounts with Arab bios following them. Some reported having more than 50 new followers with Arab links.

The list of suspected bots attempting to promote the nation was made by Josh Russell, a technology specialist based in Indiana who has uncovered previous disinformation campaigns on social media involving Russian “troll farms”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/19/twitter-suspends-bots-spreading-pro-saudi-tweets-khashoggi-case/
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سيف الله
10-30-2018, 07:41 AM
Salaam

Another perspective.

JAMAL KHASHOGGI: WHEN ECONOMICS TRUMPS JUSTICE

At some point, someone in the Saudi hierarchy made the fateful decision that Jamal Khashoggi was a liability and a threat large enough to warrant his murder. Whilst Russia’s KGB has been using poison to send a message to former KGB officers who have gone rogue, Saudi officials didn’t need to go to such elaborate lengths – it has a century old history of dealing with dissidents and undesirables.

Jamal Khashoggi is now trending higher than household popstars as his assassination has reached global proportions.

Khashoggi was a loyal member of the Saudi propaganda apparatus. There is no journalism allowed in the kingdom. There have been courageous Saudi women and men who attempted to crack the wall of rigid political conformity and were persecuted and punished for their views. Khashoggi was not from among them. Some of his own writers suffered while Khashoggi was their boss at Al-Watan newspaper. Khashoggi—contrary to what is being written—was never punished by the regime, except lightly two years ago, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) banned him from tweeting and writing for Al-Hayat, the London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan.

Early in his career, Khashoggi became close to two princes: Prince Turki Al-Faysal (who headed Saudi intelligence) and his brother, Prince Khalid Al-Faysal, who owned Al-Watan (The Motherland) where Khashoggi had his first (Arabic) editing job. Editors in the Middle East are trusted individuals who have demonstrated long-time loyalty. Khashoggi admitted to an Arab reporter, just last year in an interview from Istanbul that in Saudi Arabia he had been both editor and censor.

Editors of Saudi regime papers (mouthpieces of princes and kings) enforce government rules and eliminate objectionable material.


Khashoggi was the go-to man for Western journalists covering the kingdom, appointed to do so by the regime. He may have been pleasant in conversation with reporters, as they have reported, but he never questioned the royal legitimacy.

So, what sealed his fate?

Information continues to trickle out that Khashoggi was working with other intelligence agencies, namely Turkey and Qatar. A writer in Okaz, a daily newspaper in Jeddah, accused Khashoggi of meeting with the Emir of Qatar in New York and of having ties to “regional and international intelligence services.” This likely sealed his fate. A regime insider who knows too much was a liability if he is working for Saudi enemies. It’s unlikely the Saudi authorities expected the furore to reach global proportions. Something they didn’t even prepare for.

On the 2nd October 2018, Khashoggi visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to collect a document that he needed in order to marry his Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz. He was never seen again.

The Saudi monarchy – who has its hands dripping with blood in Yemen – struggled to keep its story consistent. From Khashoggi leaving through a back entrance, to Saudi authorities investigating his whereabouts, to denials of murder or accusations of low level intelligence officers going too far – there have been an array of Saudi official responses. This would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

The US has shown in reality it has no real values and commercial deals determine its response rather than Human Rights or any ethics. Since King Salman and Mohammed bin Salman rose to prominence, the Saudi monarchy has completely aligned with America’s agenda in the Middle East. The Washington Post reported on 9 October that “the U.S. intelligence intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to capture Khashoggi.” The intercepted communications were regarded as significant because Khashoggi is a legal resident of the United States and is therefore entitled to protection.

Despite this, President Trump told journalists: “I know [Senators] are talking about different kinds of sanctions, but [the Saudi Arabians] are spending $110 billion on military equipment and on things that create jobs for this country.” Trump, in responding specifically to the Senate’s attempt to block the Saudi Arabian arms deal, stated that the blocking of such a deal “would not be acceptable to me.”

Erdogan has a long history of arresting journalists and censuring any dissent against him. Since the coup attempt against him in 2016, Erdogan arrested professors, lecturers, journalists and academics and pretty much anybody he wanted to get rid of who may question him. Whilst Turkey has presented itself as dealing with a murder on its soil, the reality is Turkey uses the same methods and tactics to achieve the same goals to protect itself from criticism.

The European response has been to criticise the Saudi monarchy and call for investigations into the murder. Given the opportunity to undermine King Salman and his son who are fully in-line with the US agenda, this is a chance that cannot be lost. But with lucrative defence deals ongoing with the Saudi monarchy, it’s unlikely this position will go too far.

The fact that nations such as Britain and the US have factored in commerce when looking at how to respond to the slaughter of someone, shows once again, it is economics rather than any morals that determine their response.

Saudi Arabia has been slaughtering Muslims in Yemen, despite this the murder of one former dissident has got more attention than the impending famine caused by Saudi’s war machine in Yemen.

This whole episode shows how the liberal world order really deals with issues. An issue is valued through how it can be used to further each nation’s agenda, rather than actually bringing to justice those who commit acts of murder.

http://www.hizb.org.uk/viewpoint/jamal-khashoggi-when-economics-trumps-justice/
Reply

سيف الله
10-31-2018, 05:42 PM
Salaam

Like to share.

Blurb

Hatice Cengiz says she waited for hours for her fiance, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, outside of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.



Another update.

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سيف الله
11-01-2018, 11:40 PM
Salaam

A Saudi response.

The drama will be over soon and Saudis will have the last laugh

SOON, drama of the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey will come to an end. Truly this is nothing but a comedy act that turned to international media and was orchestrated by haters and ill-wishers in Qatar who were working day and night to come up with this skit.

With this drama coming to a near end, signs of fear are visible on the faces on the producers, writers, actors and directors, while at the same time, Saudis will be laughing and recording a new victory. Saudis will stress the fact that their country is a great nation in the region and a leader of the Islamic world and is not shaken by these malicious acts. As for their opponents, they are nothing more than small parasites with a very short life cycle.

There are those who will try to magnify this incident for different reasons and they are in different camps. There are the kids in the camp of the Qatari regime and their goal is clear: to damage the reputation of Saudi Arabia on the international level. This was their main mission from the mid-1990s, since they established their cheap propaganda channel Al-Jazeera and attracted mercenaries and those who were kicked out from their own countries to manage this channel. There are terrorist groups and their supporters and there are countries with weak economy who are looking to get advantage from this case by engaging in the media campaign against Saudi Arabia, to embezzle Saudi money and quick economic deals.

There are leftist groups in the West who see the stability in the region goes against their main project. They believe that Saudi Arabia is the central country that put an end to the Arab Spring project, which was supported by these groups, and Saudi Arabia buried it forever.

All these groups are exposed and they will achieve no results. There are, however, a group that is playing a dangerous role in the dark and we need to crush them. They are an inferior group that does not have the courage to announce its support to Qatar publicly. But they are playing an indirect role by spreading rumors and circulating fake news among Saudis in an effort to make them doubt their government.

Yes, Saudis will have the last laugh at the end of this comedy act and Saudi Arabia will get out from this stronger while striking fear in the hearts of its enemies. We need in-house cleaning from these parasites who were exposed by the Khashoggi incident.

With this drama coming to a near end, signs of fear are visible on the faces on the producers, writers, actors and directors, while at the same time, Saudis will be laughing and recording a new victory.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/545845/Opinion/Local-Viewpoint/The-drama-will-be-over-soon-and-Saudis-will-have-the-last-laugh
Reply

سيف الله
11-05-2018, 09:38 PM
Salaam

Looks like 'MBS' new best friend 'Bibi' is going to come to his rescue.

Blurb

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Jamal Khashoggi's murder must not risk Saudi Arabia's "stability"

Reply

سيف الله
11-08-2018, 10:54 PM
Salaam

Another update

Some Saudis want to boycott Amazon in response to The Washington Post's coverage of Jamal Khashoggi's murder

  • Saudis are calling for a boycott of Amazon and its regional subsidiary, Souq.com, in response to The Washington Post's coverage of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
  • Thousands of people on Twitter in Saudi Arabia echoed those calls for a boycott in order to jab Jeff Bezos, who owns The Post and is the founder and biggest shareholder in Amazon.
  • People were apparently angry about The Post's ongoing coverage of Khashoggi's murder, viewing it as an attack on the kingdom.


Saudis are calling for a boycott of Amazon and its regional subsidiary, Souq.com, in response to The Washington Post's coverage of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

Thousands of people on Twitter in Saudi Arabia echoed those calls for a boycott in order to jab Jeff Bezos, who owns The Post and is the founder and biggest shareholder in Amazon.

Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, last month, was a columnist at The Post.

"Boycott Amazon" was the top trending hashtag on Twitter in Saudi Arabia for several hours Sunday, according to Bloomberg.

Users appeared to be angry at The Post's ongoing coverage of Khashoggi's murder, viewing it as an attack on their kingdom's policies.

Many were notably upset by a recent op-ed from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who blasted Saudi officials for trying to "cover up" Khashoggi's killing.

The Post's editorial board has repeatedly called for transparency in the investigations surrounding Khashoggi's October death and has published gruesome details about the murder citing information from Turkish officials.

While Saudi Arabia’s description of what happened to the 59-year-old has shifted several times, Turkish authorities said he was strangled shortly after he entered the consulate and his body was dismembered. The Post previously reported that Turkish officials were pursuing a theory that Khashoggi’s remains were dissolved in acid in the consulate or at the nearby consul general’s home.

His remains have not been recovered.

Saudi users shared videos and photos of themselves deleting the Amazon and Souq applications from their phones.

Some also posted about canceling their Amazon or Souq accounts. Influential users referred to Western media coverage of Khashoggi's case as a "media war," Bloomberg reported, while other tweets appeared to be automated or copied and pasted.

Some users mocked the boycott campaign against Amazon, which recently became the second US company to achieve a $1 trillion market cap.

The Post cited an anonymous Turkish official as saying authorities found biological evidence in the consulate garden that supported the theory.

“Khashoggi’s body was not in need of burying,” the official said, according to The Post.

Earlier theories floated that Khashoggi’s body was wrapped up in some kind of fabric and given to a local Turkish coconspirator.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/saudis-to-boycott-amazon-over-washington-post-jamal-khashoggi-coverage-2018-11
Reply

JustTime
11-09-2018, 01:21 AM
No body cares about this guy how about the kids in Iraq, Syria and Burma killed daily, I'd like to see this much attention for the Iraqi boy run over by a tank by Hezbollah thugs on video for their entertainment then I would ever care to hear about this guy. I want to know which Rafidi Mobilization Gangsters were responsible and I would like for Iran to be questioned on an international scale for it as well as the fake government of Iraq and I would like for BBC, Al-Jazeera and the rest of the media circus to give attention to him, until then no one needs to hear about this man he is unimportant and insignificant.

- - - Updated - - -

format_quote Originally Posted by Junon
Salaam

Looks like 'MBS' new best friend 'Bibi' is going to come to his rescue.

Blurb

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Jamal Khashoggi's murder must not risk Saudi Arabia's "stability"

Better than Khamenei the scum of the Majoos or Bashar the dog of the Rafida
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...-iraqi-9261323
Reply

سيف الله
11-14-2018, 12:26 AM
Salaam

Oh dear seems the Oligarchs are displeased with MBS

Crown Prince’s wings clipped as Khashoggi death rattles Riyadh

Fallout from killing has weakened Prince Mohammed and given second wind to old guard of elders

Six weeks after Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents, the decision-making process in Riyadh is slowly starting to change. Fallout from the assassination in Istanbul has wounded Mohammed bin Salman, the heir to the throne, and given a second wind to an old guard of elders, whose views are once more being heard.

Publicly, the kingdom’s leaders appear chastened and contrite in the wake of Khashoggi’s gruesome killing inside the Saudi consulate. In private though, senior members of the House of Saud, including the crown prince, are partly blaming Turkey for the global revulsion, which they say could have been contained if Ankara had played by “regional rules”.

Central to the resentment, according to sources close to the royal court in Riyadh, is a view that the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, betrayed the kingdom by disclosing details of the investigation and refusing all overtures from Saudi envoys, including an offer to pay “significant” compensation.

“They say they were betrayed by the Turks,” a regional source said. “That’s where they are in their most private thoughts.”

The extraordinary ramifications of Khashoggi’s death continue to reverberate through the halls of power in Riyadh, where some decisions are now being made away from the ubiquitous crown prince, who Turkey alleges directly ordered the assassination, and has since tried to deflect blame to fall guys, including his most prominent domestic aide. Ankara has been aiming to isolate Prince Mohammed through weeks of pointed rhetoric that has appealed to the Saudi king to rein in his son, and restore more conventional ways of doing business.

The return to Riyadh earlier this month of Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the sole surviving full brother of King Salman, has been widely interpreted as a first step in the restoration of an old order, in which decision making was made after extensive consultation among elders. Another senior figure, Khalid al-Faisal, led the Saudi delegation to meet Erdoğan in October, and the king himself - who has taken more of a chairman role since appointing Prince Mohammed as his heir - has been more visible and vocal in meetings, a second senior source says.

“MbS [the common acronym for the crown prince] has had his wings clipped,” the source said. “There’s no doubt about it. He doesn’t have the same swagger, and he’s just as scared of a mis-step as the next guy. That’s a big change.”

In the days after Khashoggi was killed, as the official Saudi reaction shifted from outright denial that it had played a role, to a begrudging admission that Khashoggi had been killed in a fight, Prince Mohammed struggled to comprehend the scale of the reaction – and even the reason for it.

“He was blaming the Americans for betraying him initially,” said the regional source. “He’d seen Abu Ghraib, renditions, death penalties, and he felt comforted by Trump. He could not understand why this was happening to him.”

Since then, western leaders’ once enthusiastic embrace of Prince Mohammed has been replaced by wariness and a view that some of the regional feuds launched in his name need to be brought to an end.

“We saw [the US secretary of state Mike] Pompeo talk strongly about Yemen,” said a British diplomat, who like other senior officials contacted by the Guardian, declined to be named. “That was not a ‘we’re working with you’ tone. It was something very different.”

Pompeo on 31 October had demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Yemen, where Saudi-led forces had been fighting Houthi rebel groups, who it alleges are backed by Iran. The US defence secretary, James Mattis, added his voice on Friday, and urged the start of peace talks between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.

They were the strongest remarks yet by a US official in the two-year war on the kingdom’s eastern border. Also on Friday, the US said it would no longer refuel Saudi fighter jets conducting missions in Yemen – a further sign that Riyadh’s most important ally, and supplier of most of its weapons, is losing faith in the campaign.

The Saudi-led blockade of Qatar is also facing renewed scrutiny, with US officials believed to be newly energised in finding ways to force a climbdown which would not further diminish Prince Mohammed in the eyes of his critics or domestic stakeholders.

There is little appetite in London or Washington for Prince Mohammed to be removed, and Ankara – which is strongly opposed to the crown prince, but not at odds with King Salman – is being lobbied heavily by Riyadh’s allies to accept the fact that Prince Mohammed will not be ousted.

A Whitehall assessment is that a risk exists of a slide back towards the religious establishment, revocation of social change and a plunge in the Saudi economy if a palace coup was launched. “It’s in everyone’s interests to find a way forward that world leaders can just about live with,” an official with responsibility for Saudi security policy said.

Erdoğan is understood to remain unconvinced about Prince Mohammed remaining in power. On Saturday, the Turkish leader claimed Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Britain, France and Germany had been given audio tapes that recorded the killing of Khashoggi by a team of 15 security officials who had flown to Istanbul and waited for him to enter the Saudi consulate to sign marriage papers on 2 October. Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, confirmed Canadian spies had listened to audio depicting the last moments of Khashoggi’s life. Germany later followed suit, in what appeared to be a co-ordinated effort to maintain pressure on Riyadh.

What was recorded on the tapes remains the centrepiece of the case against the kingdom, and could help answer whether the crown prince himself was incriminated in the conversations. His chief domestic aide, Saad al-Qahtani, was sacked two weeks after the assassination, as was a deputy intelligence chief. Mohammed bin Salman insists he played no role and his defenders have insisted the hitmen over-reached in a bid to please their masters. Intelligence officials in the region and in Europe remain incredulous at the claim.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/12/saudi-arabia-crown-prince-mohammed-wings-clipped-as-khashoggi-death-rattles-riyadh
Reply

سيف الله
11-15-2018, 08:22 PM
Salaam

Another update

Letter from Riyadh

We all grieve for our brother Jamal Khashoggi, may be peace be upon him. Indeed, may peace be upon all the pieces of him, wherever they may be interred.


Our own exhaustive inquiry into this affair has concluded that our government may have accidentally killed Jamal on purpose. According to our evolving PR strategy, he appears to have died while resisting torture and extra judicial beheading, itself a serious offence punishable by torture and beheading.

Alas, we cannot help our Turkish cousins locate the remains of our dear brother. It appears they may well have been mislaid in all the excitement. Infidels have accused our loveable crown prince, Muhammed bin Salman, aka ‘MBS’, may Allah preserve His Royal Highness. But the real culpability seems to lie elsewhere.

You westerners have overlooked the role of our dear sheikh, His Excellency Saud al-Qahtani, who has been accused of overseeing the whole of this most unfortunate incident. Although not physically present in Istanbul, al-Qahtani was beamed into the interrogation room via skype to hurl insults at Khashoggi. Indeed, it is al-Qahtani who appears on the Turks secret recordings inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul – clearly taking a keen interest in Jamal’s ‘cross examination’. At one point he was heard to shout: ‘Bring me the head of the dog’.

Al Qahtani may appear to be a pudgy, unprepossessing sheikh of some 40 years with spaghetti western designer stubble, but he was widely considered to be the dark power behind MBS, Saudi officials familiar with his ‘methods’ have quietly tried to brief western journalists and diplomats about this shadowy figure – unkindly dubbed ‘the Goebbels of the sands’. The Sheikh has been at the heart of most of our recent scandals and fiascos.

A law graduate, His Excellency first came to notice in 2003 as a legal adviser to our departed brother, His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abulaziz. But his career really took of in 2012 when he became court adviser and soon came to the attention of MBS. Nominally al-Qathani ran the crown princes social media sites, quickly gathering some 1.3 million personal followers and legions of bots which he has mercilessly deployed against the Qatari dogs. Al-Qahtani rapidly became invaluable in a whole series of initiatives carried out at the behest of MBS.

These included the so-called ‘Great Sheikh-down’ of late 2017 when more than 200 of our most corrupt prices and sheikhs were incarcerated in the Ritz Carlton here in Riyadh. Al-Qathani led several of the ‘interrogations’ himself and played a key role in relieving many of the inmates of their ill-gotten gains. He also helped out in the kidnapping of the Lebanese prime minster Saad Hariri, who we felt had failed to stand up to the Shite infidels of Iran and Hezbollah.

Al-Qahtani oversaw the interrogation and thrashing of Hariri, whom he then forced to sign a letter of resignation. The intercession of French President Emmanuel Macron made it clear there had been a regrettable misunderstanding and our brother Harari was soon released to continue being prime minster.

Following the latest, ahem, regrettable incident in Istanbul, it seems our rulers have decided that al-Qahtani has delighted them long enough. King Salman has ‘let go’ him and four other officials over the Khashoggi affair, leaving our dear and greatly respected crown prince MBS looking as serene as ever.

Private Eye Issue 1483
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سيف الله
11-16-2018, 10:26 PM
Salaam

Another update.

What Turkey Stands to Gain From the Khashoggi Investigation

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might not be able to permanently sideline the Saudi crown prince, but he could extract other concessions that bolster his own position.


Saudi authorities said Thursday that they charged 11 people in connection with the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Five of the 11 were charged with murder. Turkey’s response? It’s not enough.

The journalist’s killing has cast Turkey, which under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stifled dissent, in an unusual role—that of a defender of human rights and a free press. So what does Turkey hope to get out of this? Two main things: the undermining of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and an end to the Riyadh-led blockade of Qatar.

Since Khashoggi disappeared last month, Erdoğan has put on a masterful performance: He has ensured that the specter of culpability for the killing looms over MbS; maintained deference toward Saudi King Salman, MbS’s father; and reset relations with President Donald Trump through the release of a jailed American pastor.

The Saudi prosecutors’ narrative could diminish some of Turkey’s pressure on the crown prince. According to the version of events they laid out on Thursday, a 15-man team sent to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul had orders to return Khashoggi to the kingdom. But he resisted, resulting in his murder and dismemberment, the prosecutors said. This action, they said, was not authorized by top Saudi officials. The version of events contradicts almost every previous account offered by the Saudis, who had said the death was accidental. But it is also at odds with the Turkish narrative that Khashoggi’s killing on October 2 was premeditated.

“We find all those steps positive, but insufficient,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Thursday following the Saudi announcement. That pronouncement is hardly shocking, but there is irony in Turkey assuming the role of champion of press freedom and human rights. This week, a Turkish court dismissed the case against Ayla Albayrak, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who had previously been accused of promoting terrorist propaganda. More than two-dozen journalists have been jailed by the Turkish government.*

Under Erdoğan, the government has crushed dissent and dismantled the free press. Yet on the Khashoggi case, it has emerged as the clearest voice for justice—clearer even than the West, which traditionally has championed such causes but in this case is standing by its ally MbS. The Trump administration announced economic sanctions on 17 Saudis with alleged links to the killing shortly after the Saudi announcement. A French foreign-ministry spokeswoman called the Saudi announcement a step “in the right direction.”

Following Thursday’s charges, Erdoğan’s primary goal of sidelining MbS appears to have stalled. “I think he overplayed his hand aiming to undermine MbS,” Soner Cagaptay, who studies Turkey at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said.

Still, the Turkish president has cards left to play: Saudi Arabia’s Western allies are so keen on the Khashoggi story going away that they are likely to offer Ankara incentives to stop pointing the finger at MbS and accept the results of the Saudi inquiry. (Turkey itself has called for an international investigation into the incident.)

Ankara can also extract major political concessions from the Arabs. Erdoğan, who has portrayed himself as a leader of the Muslim world, has another goal: that of Islamic unity. “If he gets this as part of the bargain with MbS, he might let him walk away,” Cagaptay, the author of The New Sultan: Erdoğan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey, said.

One way to achieve that unity is through an end to the Saudi-led Arab blockade of Qatar. Turkey, along with Iran, has supported Doha during the more-than-year-long embargo imposed on Qatar by its fellow Arab states for, among other things, its alleged support of Islamist groups. Many of those groups are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which most Arab states regard as a terrorist organization, but which Erdoğan openly supports because of its espousal of political Islam. Qatar, which remains one of Turkey’s major financial benefactors, says it supports all groups in the region because it takes into account political realities on the ground.

Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu’s remarks that the Saudi prosecutor’s actions were “positive, but insufficient” leaves the door open for a compromise—one that ends the blockade of Qatar and includes a tacit understanding from Arab states that Ankara will continue to support groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies. Any such agreement would almost certainly boost Erdoğan’s standing in the region. For a country that is struggling economically and, until recently, was feuding with all its major allies, this is no small thing.

https://www.theatlantic.com/internat...salman/575962/

More analysis.

Blurb

Press TV interviews E. Michael Jones, editor of Culture Wars magazine, on the implications of the U.S. indication it will hold accountable those involved in the Khashoggi murder.

Reply

Silas
11-17-2018, 04:19 PM
The CIA came out this morning and said they believed the Crown Prince ordered Khashoggi's killing

That is VERY unusual for them to do --directly implicating a US ally before statements from the president.

This is going to get very ugly ....
Reply

سيف الله
11-17-2018, 04:48 PM
Salaam

As horrible as this murder is (and it is) usually an incident like this would be hushed up. (Erdogan himself locks up dissidents and look whats happening to Julian Assange). Also note the lack of concern for the lives lost in Yemen, Syria and Ive heard another Saudi journalist died that didn't make the headlines.

Usually Western powers quick to defend or at least deflect criticism directed towards the Sauds.

Hmmmm theres something else going on.

Edit:

Interesting speculation.







Reply

سيف الله
11-03-2019, 10:43 AM
Salaam

Another update.

Postcard from Riyadh

What has happended to our dear sheikh Saud al-Qahtani? The suspected mastermind behind the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has himself disappeared.


Al-Qahtani aka the ‘Lord of the Flies’, was the indispensable right hand guru-psychopath to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MBS. He was the most feared man in our kingdom until he screwed up the Khashoggi business in our consulate in Istanbul a year ago. The Turks, alas, were bugging the premises and recorded the whole bloody affair, the sheikh apparently directed operations via Skype. ‘Bring me the head of the dog!’ he is heard to say.

MBS had made al-Qahtani overlord of al Saudi media, including those sections that dare to dissent. He was himself a keen tweeter with more than 1.3m followers – or was until his account was mysteriously suspended by Twitter on 20 September. In any event, he hasn’t tweeted a word since last October, around the time MBS, under pressure from Washington, was forced to sack him and arrest other members of the hit squad for what the UN calls a ‘state killing.’

MBS and al-Qahtani suspected Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was an agent for the Muslim Brotherhood, our enemy, and their followers in Turkey and Qatar. Such treason was punishable by extra judicial torture and beheading. The CIA meanwhile, has identified him as head of our ‘Saudi Rapid Intervention Group’ which he set up to counter dissent. The Khashoggi hit was one of a dozen ‘rapid interventions’ but the first to backfire so badly.

In January, al-Qahtani was not among the 11 defendants who shuffled into court in Riyadh for the show trial MBS was forced to convene. In April, the US banned the sheikh and his 15 accomplices from the US over the death of Khashoggi, whose remains have never been found.

So where is al-Qahtani? In late August the Oslo based Palestinian exile and critic of Saudi Arabia Iya al-Baghdadi tweeted that he had ‘received news that Saud al-Qahtani had been poisoned to death by MBS’. Baghdadi claimed his source is ‘well placed’ and ‘consistently reliable’. Our officials deny foul play and insist al-Qahtani is ‘under investigation’ – but provide no proof.

There is no doubt his permanent disappearance would help attempts here to protect MBS, who was in the spotlight the moment al-Qahtani’s involvement was identified last year. Both the US and UN demanded al-Qahtanis prosecution, but MBS would never risk him taking the stand. He knows too much about Khashoggi and other state scandals.

Recent attacks on our oil fields by Iran and Yemen failed to detract from publicity surrounding the anniversary of the killing and interest in the Khashoggi case persists. MBS says he takes responsibility for the killing that happened ‘under my watch’ but insists he had nothing to do with it. How he must long for the return of his dear friend to clear his noble name form unwarranted suspicion.

PE Issue 1507.
Reply

سيف الله
12-23-2019, 11:45 AM
Salaam

Another update.

Saudi Arabia sentences five to death for murder of Jamal Khashoggi

Former royal adviser Saud al-Qahtani was investigated but released without being charged


Five men have been sentenced to death and another three face 24 years in prison for their roles in the gruesome murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year, the Saudi public prosecutor’s office has said.
All 11 people on trial were found guilty of the killing, which triggered the kingdom’s biggest diplomatic crisis since the 9/11 attacks as world leaders and business executives sought to distance themselves from Riyadh.

However, Saudi state television also reported the Saudi attorney general’s investigation showed that the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s former top adviser, Saud al-Qahtani, had no proven involvement in the killing, after being investigated and released without charge.

Al-Qahtani has been sanctioned by the US for his alleged role in the operation.

The court also ruled that the Saudi consul-general in Istanbul at the time, Mohammed al-Otaibi, was not guilty. He was released from prison after the verdicts were announced.

The murder of Khashoggi sullied the reputation of the newly appointed crown prince, whom the CIA concluded directly ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Prince Mohammed has attempted to portray himself as a liberal reformer of the conservative country. The Saudi government denies the prince had knowledge of what it says was a rogue operation. The prince himself told US television in September that he took “full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia”.

After holding nine sessions, the trial concluded that there was no previous intent by those found guilty to murder.

All 11 defendants may appeal against the verdicts, the deputy public prosecutor, Shalaan bin Rajih Shalaal, said.

No other details were immediately given about the rulings in the highly secretive trial, which began in January. The identities of the men are unknown and UN investigators have been repeatedly barred from hearings, although a handful of diplomats, including from Turkey, as well as members of Khashoggi’s family, were allowed to attend the sessions.

Ankara has repeatedly sought the extradition for trial in Turkey of 18 Saudi suspects, including a 15 man hit team it says flew into Istanbul hours before the killing to dispatch the journalist.

Agnès Callamard, a UN special rapporteur who authored an inquiry into Khashoggi’s death, has previously said the search for justice must not be left to the Saudi judicial system, which is “so vulnerable to political interference”.
Dozens of high-profile critics of Prince Mohammed, including women’s rights campaigners, are in prison facing trial for treason.

Khashoggi, a US-based columnist for the Washington Post critical of the Saudi government, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October last year on a visit to pick up paperwork for his forthcoming marriage.
The 59-year-old’s body has still not been found and is thought by Turkish investigators to have been dissolved in acid.

Saudi Arabia initially denied its officials were responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance, but as Turkish authorities continued to leak evidence of high-level involvement, the kingdom eventually admitted its agents carried out the killing, offering a series of contradictory explanations.

Donald Trump, whom has made Saudi Arabia the keystone of his Middle East policy, condemned the killing but has staunchly defended his ally, Prince Mohammed. His administration has sanctioned 17 Saudis suspected of being involved in Khashoggi’s death, though not the crown prince.

Trump has steadfastly resisted calls by congress and members of his own party for a tougher response, defending maintaining good relations with the kingdom because of its importance as a major trade and diplomatic ally.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...amal-khashoggi
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