Slain Saudi journalist has become 'symbol of our collective moral conscience,' says Hatice Cengiz
The late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi represents "all the nameless people" in the Arab world, his fiancée said Wednesday on the anniversary of his murder.
Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and columnist for The Washington Post newspaper, was killed and dismembered on Oct. 2, 2018 after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was making arrangements for his wedding.
"What happened to Jamal showed how far human rights have been abandoned in the Arab world," Hatice Cengiz wrote in an article for the online edition of U.S. magazine Time.
"Jamal’s name now represents all the nameless people in this region who would like to speak but can’t articulate what they want to say, and have to remain anonymous on social media," she said.
Cengiz said Khashoggi's death was a blow to everyone fighting for democracy in the Middle East and his killers dealt another blow to his beloved by disposing of his body.
"The savagery of Jamal’s killing pained anyone with a conscience.
"They tried to silence Jamal forever. But instead he has become the symbol of our collective moral conscience, the voice for the voiceless in the Middle East," she added.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s murder. UN expert Agnes Callamard has described his death as a “premeditated execution” and called for bin Salman and other high-ranking Saudis to be investigated.
Officials in Riyadh, who initially said Khashoggi had left the premises unharmed, said the journalist was killed in a rogue operation that did not involve bin Salman. Activists have called for accountability in Khashoggi’s death.
