Khashoggi’s last column published

WASHINGTON: The

Washington Post has published the last column by Jamal Khashoggi, written by the journalist shortly before he went missing.

The column, titled ‘‘What the Arab world needs most is free expression,’’ focuses on the need for a free press in the Middle East and that many Arabs live in a state of misinformation.

Khashoggi talked about how freedom of the press has been under attack and generally is not taken seriously by the international community and, as a result, reporters were being silenced.

‘‘These actions no longer carry the consequence of a backlash from the international community,’’ Khashoggi wrote.

‘‘Instead, these actions may trigger condemnation quickly followed by silence. As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate.’’

At the top of the piece,

Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah left a note describing her reluctance to publish the piece, hoping Khashoggi would ‘‘come back to us’’ so they could edit it together.

But, Attiah said, she now accepted that Khashoggi was dead.

‘‘This column perfectly captures his commitment and passion for freedom in the Arab world. A freedom he apparently gave his life for. I will be forever grateful he chose The Post . . . and gave us the chance to work together.’’—