Who was Jamal Khashoggi? Widow blasts Trump for defending Saudi crown prince in journalist’s murder case

Jamal Khashoggi's widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, expressed her disappointment after US President Donald Trump called him "controversial" and gave a clean chit to Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, stating that he had nothing to do with the murder of the Washington Post columnist.

"I was disappointed… and second, to describe Jamal in such a way which is not related to Jamal and the kind of justifying the crime, by presenting Jamal this way, saying he is controversial and some people do not like him, does not mean to kidnap him torture him and take his life,” Khashoggi's widow told CNN in an interview.

Trump, on Tuesday, had downplayed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the killing of Khashoggi – contradicting the CIA’s conclusion that the crown prince likely ordered the operation. MBS was on a visit to the White House – his first in seven years – since the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi that sparked global outrage.

Who was Jamal Khashoggi?

Jamal Khashoggi was a US-based journalist and a vocal critic of the Saudi Arabia government. Over the course of his career, Khashoggi covered major stories, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the late al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, for various Saudi news organisations.

For decades, the 59-year-old was close to the Saudi royal family and also served as an adviser to the government.

However, eventually, Jamal Khashoggi fell out of favour and left the country, going into self-imposed exile in the United States in 2017. From there, he wrote a column for The Washington Post, where he criticised the policies of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king’s son and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, reported BBC.

In his first column for the Post – published in September 2017 – Khashoggi said he had feared being arrested in what he called an apparent crackdown on dissent overseen by the prince.

What happened to Khashoggi?

On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was reportedly murdered.

In 2021, a report by the US Office of the director of national intelligence put the blame for Khashoggi’s death directly on Prince Mohammed.

“We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," the 2021 report stated, as per The Guardian.

What did Trump say

Donald Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his White House visit, insisting MBS “knew nothing” about the 2018 killing of journalist.

“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” Trump said, referring to Khashoggi. “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but [bin Salman] knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.”

What did MBS say about Khashoggi's death?

During his White House visit, MBS said Saudi Arabia had “done all the right steps” to investigate Khashoggi’s death. “It’s painful and it’s a huge mistake,” the crown prince said, adding that the kingdom is “doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”