Son of murdered journalist leaves Saudi Arabia for US

RIYADH: The eldest son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Salah, and his family have left the Gulf kingdom for Washington after the government lifted a travel ban, Human Rights Watch said.

Salah Khashoggi’s departure came after he was photographed on Tuesday with Crown Prince Mohammed Salman during a condolence visit, staring coldly as the pair shook hands.

The photo of the handshake with Prince Mohammed, who has faced a torrent of global criticism over the killing, went viral on social media, where rights activists demanded the immediate lifting of the travel ban.

“Salah and his family are on a plane to (Washington) DC,” Sarah Leah Whitson, the rights watchdog’s executive director for the Middle East and North Africa, told AFP, citing a family friend.

Saudi Arabia’s pro-government Okaz newspaper said Salah – a dual USSaudi citizen – departed the kingdom on Wednesday, without offering any details.

Saudi officials did not respond to requests for comment, but Whitson said that they were apparently allowed to leave after a travel ban on Salah was lifted.

Salah will join his other siblings who are based in the US, friends of the family told AFP.

“Jamal’s family needs a place to be together where they feel safe to mourn their beloved one,” said Randa Slim, director of conflict resolution at the Washingtonbased Middle East Institute, who knew the slain journalist personally. — AFP

“It is tragic that it took his death to get the Saudi authorities to grant them the freedom to travel,” Slim told AFP.