Still no justice for Saudi-sanctioned murder of Jamal Khashoggi five years on

Ahead of the five-year anniversary on 2 October since the state-sanctioned murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said:

“Five years after Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal assassination sent shockwaves around the world, the path to justice for his killing remains fully blocked. An independent and impartial criminal investigation into the role played by high level officials is yet to take place and instead, Saudi authorities are continuing their relentless crackdown on freedom of speech with complete impunity.

“Khashoggi’s enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial execution are crimes under international law, which must be urgently investigated and may be prosecuted by any state through universal jurisdiction. It is appalling that instead of pushing for justice for his murder, the international community continues to roll out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia’s leaders at any opportunity, placing diplomatic and economic interests before human rights.”

Amnesty International continues to call for an international, independent and impartial investigation into Khashoggi’s killing to identify all those involved in the crime, however high their rank or status and ensure that those suspected of responsibility are brought to justice in fair trials.

Background

Authorities in Saudi Arabia closed Jamal Khashoggi’s case in 2019 after eight people were convicted in a closed trial which lacked credibility and transparency. A UN report released by then Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, in June 2019 concluded that Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of “a pre-meditated extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible”.

Since Khashoggi’s murder, authorities in Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have intensified their chilling campaign of repression with unprecedented scope and scale. On 9 July, authorities sentenced a retired teacher to death after he protested government policies on the social media platform X (previously known as Twitter).