Journalist’s vanishing roils Mideast
Saudi dissident last seen during consulate trip
ANKARA, Turkey — A week after dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul for some routine paperwork, the mystery over his disappearance remains unsolved.
Turkish officials allege that he was killed in the compound; the Saudis say he left the building unharmed.
The case has alarmed human rights activists concerned over Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s crackdown on dissent and strained already-tense relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The United States and other Saudi allies have taken a cautious approach toward Khashoggi’s disappearance, expressing concern but refraining from any strong comments against the oil-rich kingdom.
The 59-year-old contributor to The Washington Post spent last year in the U.S. in self-imposed exile after he fled Saudi Arabia amid a crackdown on intellectuals and activists who criticized the policies of Prince Mohammed. He was last seen by his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, entering the consulate to obtain a document needed for their marriage. She and Turkish officials say he never emerged, even though Saudi Arabia insists he left the building.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged the Saudis to back up their claim that Khashoggi left the consulate.
The U.S. so far has said very little. Prince Mohammed has ties to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Trump, who visited Saudi Arabia on his first overseas trip. However, ties have been strained by the president’s recent comments implying Saudi Arabia wouldn’t last “two weeks” without the U.S. guaranteeing its safety as global oil prices continue to rise.
“I think the Saudis may have crossed the line. It puts the U.S. in a corner. Will it defend its ally or will it stand up for human rights and free speech and free journalism?” said Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a top Israeli think tank, and a former adviser to the Israeli prime minister on Iran and Gulf affairs.
Sultan al-saad al-qahtani, the editor of the Riyadh Post website and a supporter of the crown prince, called it “a Hollywood movie scenario.”