OCTOBER | #Khashoggi

The online community was left in sheer outrage following the murder of prominent Saudi Arabian journalist and author Jamal Khashoggi on October 20. A pronounced critic of the Crown Prince’s policies ever since his self-imposed US exile in 2017, the Washington Post columnist and former Saudi government adviser was reported dead just a few hours after walking into his native country’s consulate in Istanbul to obtain an official document certifying his divorce without ever getting out. Turkish authorities believed the murder had been pre-planned by a team of Saudi agents inside the building, citing the availability of audio recordings as evidence, while Saudi officials initially denied the claims, only to admit that the journalist’s death was the result of a “rogue operation” after. On October 31, Turkey released its first official statement on Khashoggi’s murder, stating he was strangled, and his body dismembered. The Washington Post’s Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah led the online voices prompting justice for her colleague, in a series of tweets expressing her indignation at the brutal act and vowing to keep fighting for truth no matter what.