Prominent Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi missing in Turkey
ISTANBUL
Prominent Saudi critic and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi is missing in Turkey after entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkish-Arab Media Association said in a written statement on Oct. 2.
Khashoggi, a former general manager and editor-in-chief of Al Arab Media Group, was last seen entering the consulate at 1 p.m. on Oct. 2, according to the statement.
“We are watching with concern that Khashoggi still did not leave the building,” the statement added, stressing “deep concerns in Turkish and international media about recent human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.”
Khashoggi’s fiancee told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency that the prominent pundit visited the consulate to receive some documents he needed.
“When I speak of the fear, intimidation, arrests and public shaming of intellectuals and religious leaders who dare to speak their minds, and then I tell you that I’m from Saudi Arabia, are you surprised?” Khashoggi wrote in his first piece for Washington Post.
“With every supposed reform comes a wave of fresh arrests, prison sentences and increasingly repressive behavior. At each turning point, though, Jamal has offered readers of The Post insightful commentary and sharp criticism about the seemingly impenetrable country,” Washington Post Global Opinions editor Jason Rezaian wrote on Oct. 2.
