Sherif Mansour of CPJ says Khashoggi's death will forever haunt his killers

A woman participates in a candlelight vigil in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington D.C., on October 2, 2019, to mark the anniversary of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Photo Credits: CPJ, Reuters/Sarah Silbiger

The four years that have passed since Washington Post columnist and Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered underscores the global failure to punish the killers of journalists around the world, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.

“Jamal Khashoggi will forever be a symbol of what it means to be a journalist, and we honor his memory and incalculable sacrifice for a free press,” said CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. “Khashoggi’s legacy will haunt his killers, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to their graves, and the U.S. response to Khashoggi’s death will always stain the record of President Joe Biden’s professed support for press freedom and human rights worldwide.”

On Tuesday, September 27, bin Salman was named prime minister in a royal decree that could immunize him from prosecution in a U.S. lawsuit over his alleged role in Khashoggi’s death on October 2, 2018. U.S. intelligence found that the crown prince likely approved the killing, but the Wall Street Journal reported on September 29 that Biden had not declassified a U.S. intelligence report on Khashoggi’s murder, despite recommendations to do so from a government panel.

CPJ previously criticized Biden’s lack of action on Khashoggi during a meeting with bin Salman in July.

Source: CPJ