Amnesty hits out at international community ahead of fifth anniversary of Khashoggi murder

Amnesty International charged the international community with putting other interests before human rights on Friday, ahead of the fifth anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi's killing by Saudi operatives in Turkey.

Khashoggi, 59, a Saudi critic and columnist for The Washington Post, was murdered and dismembered in the Gulf kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018.

Amnesty secretary-general Agnès Callamard, who as a UN special rapporteur in 2019, issued a report calling the journalist's death an "extrajudicial killing" for which the Saudi state was responsible. She said justice remains elusive.

"Five years after Jamal Khashoggi's brutal assassination sent shockwaves around the world, the path to justice for his killing remains fully blocked," she said in a statement.

"An independent and impartial criminal investigation into the role played by high-level officials is yet to take place and instead, Saudi authorities are continuing their relentless crackdown on freedom of speech with complete impunity."

Saudi Arabia sentenced eight people to prison over Khashoggi's killing. But Human Rights Watch has said authorities "failed to arrest the most senior officials accused of involvement in the plot to target" the prominent critic.

The kingdom continues to face criticism over its human rights record and in July sentenced a retired teacher to death over what Amnesty called "peaceful online activity" on Twitter and YouTube.

"Khashoggi's enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial execution are crimes under international law, which must be urgently investigated and may be prosecuted by any state through universal jurisdiction," Callamard said.

"It is appalling that instead of pushing for justice for his murder, the international community continues to roll out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia's leaders at any opportunity, placing diplomatic and economic interests before human rights."

"One thing I've learned from spending a lot of time in tyrannical societies is that dictators create cowards. People are afraid to speak up for good reason. Jamal was not afraid.”
-@lawrence_wright on what set Jamal Khashoggi apart. Listen: https://t.co/ITDp5iTrzg pic.twitter.com/z2BucNpozB

— Democracy in Exile (@DAWN_Journal) September 22, 2023

US President Joe Biden drew criticism after fist-bumping Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed during a visit to the kingdom earlier in 2023.

Riyadh's de facto leader has visited France this year and he has reportedly been invited to come to the UK.

While Downing Street has not confirmed a date for the visit, government sources said the visit is expected to take place.

Bin Salman's last visit to the UK was in March 2018, less than seven months before the murder of Khashoggi.

Last month, the British newspaper The Times quoted a government source as saying: "The invitation has been extended to the Saudis and discussions about the nature of the trip are ongoing.

"There is a desire here to make it happen by the end of the year but ultimately the timing is up to the Saudis."