D.C. trolls Saudi embassy by renaming a street Jamal Khashoggi Way
WASHINGTON >> One month ahead of President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia, the District of Columbia is renaming the street in front of the Saudi embassy Jamal Khashoggi Way, trolling Riyadh for its role in the killing of the dissident Saudi activist and journalist in 2018.
With members of the D.C. Council in attendance, a Jamal Khashoggi Way sign was unveiled directly in front of the embassy's main entrance.
“We intend to remind the people who are hiding behind these doors ... that we hold them responsible and we will hold them accountable for the murder of our friend,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of DAWN, the pro-Arab world democracy organization founded by Khashoggi prior to his death. Whitson also criticized what she called the “shameless capitulation” of the Biden administration for seeking improved relations with the Saudi government and scheduling an official presidential visit to the kingdom.
Khashoggi, a prominent
Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, seeking the necessary documentation for a planned marriage with his fiancee waiting outside for him. The 59-year old never emerged.
The Saudi government initially denied any wrongdoing. But under mounting international pressure, Riyadh eventually admitted that Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate in what the Saudis characterized as a repatriation effort gone wrong.
The CIA later released a report concluding that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered on the orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
The Saudi regime has consistently denied that connection. Several lowerlevel Saudi officials and agents received jail sentences over the killing.
The D.C. Council unanimously voted late last year to rename a one-block stretch for Khashoggi.
“I'm very proud that we did this, said “D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson.