The assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident, journalist for The Washington Post and former general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel, occurred on 2 October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and was denounced by the majority of the international community.
For 18 days, Saudi Arabia denied Khashoggi had died in the consulate, before indicating a team of Saudi agents had overstepped their orders to capture him when a struggle ensued leading to his death. Turkey said it believes the killing was premeditated and approved by the Saudi government, and sought extradition of the suspects.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, expressed support for Saudi government reserving judgment about culpability. This created a bipartisan uproar in Congress, shaking the foundations of the close American-Saudi relationship with calls for suspension of military sales. President Joe Biden, since taking office, also has not taken action against Saudi Arabia for the assassination.
Most countries without a direct tie to Saudi Arabia called for a transparent investigation and condemned the killing. Countries with direct ties characterize the aftermath as a media campaign against Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia When the news of disappearance of Khashoggi broke out Saudi Arabia claimed he had left the consulate and denied having any knowledge about his fate. Turkish media published evidence suggesting that Khashoggi never came out of the consulate. Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the case. The international community called for more clarity on the case from Saudi authorities, pressuring Saudi Arabia both politically and economically. Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities leaked facts from the ongoing investigation of the case that refuted Saudi claims.
On 19 October, the Saudi officials admitted Khashoggi died inside the consulate due to strangulation after an argument and fistfight. Saudi Arabian foreign minister called it a "rogue operation" and on 25 October the Saudi prosecutor stated that Turkish-supplied evidence indicates the suspects acted with premeditated intention.
Initial denial of involvement On 3 October, Saudi officials claimed Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, and that he was neither in the consulate nor in Saudi custody. The Saudis denied having any knowledge of his fate. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman claimed Khashoggi left the consulate shortly after the visit.
On 8 October, Prince Khalid bin Salman, brother of the Crown Prince and Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., published a letter stating that Khashoggi went missing after leaving the consulate. The English-language Arab News on 10 October 2018 reported that Prince Khalid "condemns 'malicious leaks and grim rumors and denied any involvement by the Saudi government. On October 15, Saudi Arabia threatened to retaliate against any nation that levelled sanctions against it.
Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter, but has historically avoided using oil exports as a political tool. On October 15, Turki Aldakhil, the head of Al Arabiya, the Saudi-owned pan-Arab news network based in Dubai, made comments suggesting that the nation would break this tradition: "If President Trump was angered by $80 oil, nobody should rule out the price jumping to $100 and $200 a barrel or maybe double that figure." The Saudi embassy in Washington said Aldakhil didn't represent the country's official position, and Khalid A. Al-Falih, the Saudi energy minister, said his country would act responsibly.
That same week, Saudi Arabia's Office of Public Prosecution tweeted that anyone "affect[ing] the public order or public security" on social media by suggesting that the government was involved in Khashoggi's disappearance could be punished "by five years and a fine of 3 million riyals". Twitter subsequently suspended a number of bot accounts that appeared to be spreading pro-Saudi tweets about the disappearance of Khashoggi.
News reports on Al Arabiya claimed that reports of Khashoggi's disappearance inside the Saudi consulate have been pushed by Qatar. Saudi daily newspaper Okaz claimed that Qatar has a "50 percent ownership of the [Washington] Post and has influence over its editorial direction". Another Saudi newspaper, Al Yaum, claimed that members of the alleged death squad were actually tourists.
The New York Times reported that on 16 October, Saudi Arabia transferred $100 million to the American government, purportedly for its stabilization efforts in Syria, on the same day U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Riyadh for the discussion on Khashoggi with the Saudi king, the crown prince, and the foreign minister. Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the coalition against ISIL, dismissed any connection between the events and had expected the payment in the fall. Saudi Arabia had pledged the money in August without confirming any timelines, and it was unclear to one anonymous official if the payment would ever be made. The Washington Post reported that Saudi Arabia has historically provided large sums of money to other countries to support its foreign policy objectives.
Arrests and admission of involvement On 19 October, Washington Post reported that Saudi Arabia had arrested 18 unnamed people related to the case, while denying the involvement of Prince bin Salman or King Salman. Saudi Arabia also dismissed five officials of senior rank due to their alleged involvement with the case, including bin Salman's court advisor Saud al-Qahtani, and Ahmad Asiri, the deputy chief of the Saudi intelligence service. Major General Mohammed bin Saleh al-Rumaih, assistant head of the General Intelligence Directorate; Maj. Gen. Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Shaya, head of General Intelligence for Human Resources; and Gen. Rashad bin Hamed al-Mohammad, director of the General Directorate of Security and Protection, were also fired.
The following day, after 18 days of the denial of any involvement with Khashoggi's disappearance, the Saudi government admitted that he had died in the consulate, confirming the Saudi prosecutor's statement. The Saudi government released a statement based on their prosecutor's preliminary investigation which alleged that the suspects met Khashoggi in Istanbul to speak to him about his desire to return to Saudi Arabia. According to this statement, the discussion "developed in a negative way" which led to a fight that ended with Khashoggi's death, prompting the cover-up. Later on 20 October, an anonymous Saudi official was quoted in the news providing a similar account. No evidence was provided at the time to support this explanation of events, and no information was given regarding the whereabouts of Khashoggi's body. The Saudi government said that it would need another month to investigate the death.
During an interview with Fox News on 21 October, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir called Khashoggi's death a murder. It was the first time any official from the Saudi government had done so. He went on to describe the assassination as a "rogue operation" and a "tremendous mistake" that had been compounded by the cover-up attempts. He denied Prince bin Salman's involvement and knowledge, claimed not to know the location of Khashoggi's body, and stated that Saudi Arabia would conduct a full investigation into the murder.
The same day, Reuters reported that an anonymous government official provided further detail on the death. He said Khashoggi was allegedly threatened with drugging and kidnapping by Maher Mutreb. After resisting, he was restrained with a chokehold and died. Mustafa Madani then left through the back door of the consulate disguised as Khashoggi to deceive any observers. Khashoggi's body was rolled up in a carpet and given to a "local cooperator" for disposal. When questioned about Khashoggi's alleged torture and decapitation, the official said preliminary findings did not suggest that happened. The official provided Saudi documents indicating the operation was part of a wider initiative to bring expatriate dissidents home. The original plan was to keep Khashoggi in an Istanbul safe house for a period where he would be persuaded to return home or eventually released, and Mutreb had overstepped by threatening a kidnapping. The team then filed a false report indicating they let Khashoggi leave after he warned of Turkish police interference.
On 25 October, Saudi General Attorney said information received from joint working team of Saudi and Turkish investigators indicated that the crime was premeditated.
On 6 November, Al-Jazeera quoted a Turkish official saying that Turkey was informed by Saudi Arabia that it will pay "diya" (a type of financial compensation for harm mandated by Islamic law) to Khashoggi's sons and fiancée. In April 2019, it was reported the four Khashoggi children were given houses believed to be worth up to $4m each, and monthly payments of around $10,000 by Saudis Arabia.
On 9 November Prince Turki al-Faisal, KSA's ex-intelligence chief said the kingdom would "never accept" an international investigation into Khashoggi's murder. On 10 November, Reuters reported quoting intelligence sources that there was no indication of the arrest of any suspect.
On 20 November Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said claims by the CIA's assessment that crown prince Mohammed gave the order to kill Khashoggi are false: "The leadership of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (the king) and the crown prince, is a red line, and we will not permit attempts to harm or undermine them".
Changes to the Royal Court After the Khashoggi assassination, multiple reports indicate that the Saudi regime underwent its worst crisis since the September 11 attacks and the entire House of Saud emerged weakened as a result. The international outrage added pressure to the already divided royal court over Prince Mohammed's rapid ascension to power.
On 30 October, former interior minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who was seen by academics as a figure of special gravitas and as a critic of his nephew Crown Prince Mohammed, returned from his exile to Riyadh with a private security detail provided by US and UK officials and reassurances for safe passage from the king. He had been living in London for the last six years. According to multiple reports, Prince Ahmed's return was considered the most significant development in the royal family since the assassination and did suggest the Saudi royal family may be trying to internally restructure the dynasty.
Saudi dissident Prince Khaled bin Farhan said that if the senior princes Ahmed and Muqrin were to unite ranks, then "99 percent of the members of the royal family, the security services and the army would stand behind them" and could restore the reputation of the family, which has been damaged by King Salman's "irrational, erratic and stupid" rule. Saudi sources reported Mohammed bin Salman "Destroyed the institutional pillars of nearly a century of Al Saud rule: the family, the clerics, the tribes and the merchant families" which they considered as "destabilizing".
On 3 November, Crown Prince Mohammed released Khalid bin Talal, the younger brother of Alwaleed bin Talal, after almost a year in prison, which according to Middle East Eye, was an effort to mitigate the effect of his uncle's return. He had refused to make concessions to be referred to a court of law. Their father Prince Talal had been pressing since the 1960s to turn KSA into a constitutional monarchy.
Madawi al-Rasheed, professor at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and "an important Saudi intellectual in exile", wrote: "Princes are the only conduit by which the United States knows how to deal with Saudi Arabia, and no normal diplomatic measures exist for holding a rogue prince accountable."