As the Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Khashoggi has finally been confirmed dead by the authorities in Saudi Arabia, it calls for a sober reflection on the perils and prosecution suffered by the newsmen in the course of the profession.
Khashoggi was a critic of the government and a contributing columnist to The Washington Post. He was also an author, and a former General Manager and Editor-In-Chief of Al-Arab News Channel. Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia in September 2017 and went into self-imposed exile. He said that the Saudi Arabian government had “banned him from Twitter” and later wrote newspaper articles critical of the Saudi government. Khashoggi had been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, and the country’s king, Salman of Saudi Arabia. He also opposed the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
He entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 in order to obtain documents related to his marriage; he never left the building and was subsequently declared a missing person. On Saturday, the Saudi government admitted that Khashoggi had been killed. They claimed that an argument with Khashoggi resulted in a “fistfight that led to his death”.
What a sad tale that epitomizes the plight of many journalists around the world. Tribute to Khashoggi, and all journalists who have been victims of such unfortunate circumstances.
