Saudi Regime Acknowledges Death of Journalist, Scrambles to Save Face

In a long-awaited statement, the Saudi government acknowledged killing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who went missing in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2. The Saudi government has weathered fierce international criticism surrounding the disappearance and murder of Khashoggi. A public critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi entered his country’s consulate in Istanbul to receive a marriage license and never left the building. An accumulating wealth of evidence pointing to his murder has forced Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s administration to retract its denials and launch a damage-control campaign.

Saudi officials claim Khashoggi died in a fist fight with government agents. The Saudi confession follows dodgy explanations and outright denials from the Saudi regime. Originally, the kingdom categorically rejected the accusations. Saudi officials suggested Khashoggi had left the consulate alive. Video evidence shows that Saudi agents even attempted to plant a Khashoggi lookalike to throw investigators off the scent. As evidence accumulated and foreign pressure increased, the Saudi government took a defensive stance, vowing retaliation against any punishment for the “baseless accusations.”

As the weeks passed, however, increasingly convincing evidence surfaced, forcing the Saudis to acknowledge Khashoggi’s death. Saudi officials first suggested a team of rogue agents had murdered Khashoggi, only to abandon that theory and float the possibility that Khashoggi died in a botched interrogation.

Every explanation has sought to distance the crown prince from culpability. In his first public commentary on the incident, Salman condemned the “heinous” crime and promised to bring Khashoggi’s killers to justice.

Khashoggi’s unexplained death provoked international outrage. Activists staged protests on the street where Khashoggi was last seen. France, Germany and the U.K. released a joint statement requesting a more incisive, collaborative investigation. President Donald Trump, who has shifted his stance on the matter as evidence has surfaced, recently revoked visas of the Saudi agents implicated in the killing. The Trump administration has also threatened severe consequences for the Saudi royal family if they are deemed responsible.

A CIA assessment report has stated that the killing of Khashoggi was ordered by Bin Salman. The CIA statement comes in direct contradiction to President Trump’s recent comments. According to Al Jazeera, Trump has been insisting that the CIA has "feelings" but did not firmly place the blame for the death on Salman.

Khashoggi’s disappearance is not a stand-alone incident. The Saudi state maintains a checkered history with the press and government critics. Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks Saudi Arabia 169th out of 179 countries. The kingdom prohibits the operation of independent media outlets within its borders. State security services scrupulously monitor social media platforms and online blogs. Independent journalists and government critics operate in constant peril. Since King Salman claimed the Saudi throne in June 2017, fifteen journalists have disappeared.

Khashoggi’s stature has given his case particular weight. A prolific reporter with an impressive network, Khashoggi rose to prominence in the 1980s for his coverage of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. In 2003, Saudi officials appointed Khashoggi editor of Al Watan, a distinguished Saudi newspaper. Khashoggi further enmeshed himself with the Saudi royal establishment when the government hired him as an unofficial advisor to the Saudi ambassadors to the United Kingdom and the United States.

Khashoggi clashed with the Saudi state on numerous occasions. In 2011, amid the Arab Spring, Khashoggi published a series of opinion pieces pushing the Saudi government to introduce sweeping reforms; the Saudi government instituted a temporary writing ban on Khashoggi for his views. After venting criticism in a set of tweets in 2017, Khashoggi received a permanent writing ban. Fearing imprisonment, Khashoggi fled to the United States shortly after, where he lived in self-imposed exile.

Khashoggi’s case has triggered dire economic and reputational fallout for King Salman and his regime. Since assuming power, King Salman has embarked on a charm offensive in an attempt to bolster Saudi political and economic standing. The Khashoggi incident will continue to hinder the success of the crown prince’s initiatives.

The Saudi stock market tumbled seven percent on October 14. The Davos in the Desert conference, a hallmark of the crown prince’s Vision 2030 project, lost its appeal. Numerous investors and business magnates, including SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, have pulled out of the gathering.

The Khashoggi killing has once again put the Saudi regime in the spotlight. The future of Salman’s liberalizing reforms amidst these allegation remain unclear.