Jamal Khashoggi | |
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Born | Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi 13 October 1958[1] |
Died | 2 October 2018[2] | (aged 59)
Nationality | Saudi Arabian |
Alma mater | Indiana State University |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, columnist, author |
Partner | Hatice Cengiz |
Relatives | Nabila Khashoggi (cousin) Dodi Fayed (cousin) Adnan Khashoggi (uncle) Samira Khashoggi (aunt) Soheir Khashoggi (aunt) Muhammad Khashoggi (grandfather) |
Website | jamalkhashoggi |
Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (Arabic: جمال خاشقجي Jamāl Khāshuqjī, Hejazi: [ʒaˈmaːl χaːˈʃoɡʒi], 13 October 1958[1][4] – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi Arabian journalist,[5] author, and a former general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel.[6] He also served as editor for the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Watan, turning it into a platform for Saudi Arabian progressives.[7]
Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia in September 2017 and went into self-imposed exile. He said that the Saudi Arabian government had "banned him from Twitter",[8] and he 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.[5] He also opposed the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[9]
Khashoggi entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 in order to obtain documents related to his marriage. As no CCTV recorded him exiting the consulate,[10] he was declared a missing person[11] amid news reports claiming that he was killed and dismembered inside the consulate.[12][13] An inspection of the consulate, by both Saudi Arabian and Turkish officials, took place on 15 October. Turkish officials found evidence of "tampering" during the inspection and evidence that supported the belief that Khashoggi was killed.[14] Initially, the Saudi Arabian government denied the death and claimed that Khashoggi left the consulate alive[15] but 18 days later admitted he died inside after a fistfight. Eighteen Saudis were arrested, including the team of 15 who had been sent to "confront him".[16][17]
Jamal Khashoggi was born in Medina on 13 October 1958.[1][6] His grandfather, Muhammad Khashoggi, who was of Turkish origin (Kaşıkçı), married a Saudi Arabian woman and was personal physician to King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[18] Khashoggi was the nephew of late, high-profile Saudi Arabian arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, known for his part in the Iran-Contra scandal,[19][20] who was estimated to have had a net worth of US$4 billion in the early 1980s.[21][22] Jamal Khashoggi was a first cousin of Dodi Fayed, who was dating the UK's Princess Diana when the two were killed in a car crash in Paris.[23]
He received his elementary and secondary education in Saudi Arabia and obtained a bachelor's degree in business administration from Indiana State University in the United States in 1982.[6][24][25]
Jamal Khashoggi began his career as a regional manager for Tihama Bookstores from 1983 to 1984.[26] Later he worked as a correspondent for the Saudi Gazette and as an assistant manager for Okaz from 1985 to 1987.[26] He continued his career as a reporter for various daily and weekly Arab newspapers from 1987 to 1990, including Asharq Al-Awsat, Al Majalla and Al Muslimoon.[6][26] Khashoggi became managing editor and acting editor-in-chief of Al Madina in 1991 and his tenure in that position lasted until 1999.[26]
From 1991 to 1999, he was a foreign correspondent in such countries as Afghanistan, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan, and in the Middle East.[6] It is also claimed that he served with both Saudi Arabian Intelligence Agency and possibly the United States in Afghanistan during this period.[27] He then was appointed a deputy editor-in-chief of Arab News, and served in the post from 1999 to 2003.[28]
Khashoggi became the editor-in-chief of the Saudi Arabian daily Al Watan for a short period, less than two months, in 2003.[6][29][30][28] He was fired in May 2003 by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Information because he had allowed a columnist to criticize the Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328), who is considered the founding father of Wahhabism.[31] This incident led to Khashoggi's reputation in the West as a liberal progressive.[32]
After he was fired, Khashoggi went to London in voluntary exile. There he joined the Al Faisal's team as an adviser.[33] He then served as a media aide to Prince Turki Al Faisal while the latter was Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.[34] In April 2007, Khashoggi began to work as editor-in-chief of Al Watan for a second time.[28]
A column by poet Ibrahim al-Almaee challenging the basic Salafi premises was published in Al Watan in May 2010 and led to Khashoggi's seemingly forced resignation, now for a second time, on 17 May 2010.[35] Al Watan announced that Khashoggi resigned as editor-in-chief "to focus on his personal projects". However, it is thought that he was forced to resign due to official displeasure with articles published in the paper that were critical of the Kingdom's harsh Islamic rules.[35] After his second resignation from Al Watan in 2010, Khashoggi maintained ties with Saudi Arabian elites, including those in its intelligence apparatus. In 2015, he launched the satellite news channel Al-Arab, based in Bahrain outside Saudi Arabia since the country does not allow independent news channels to operate within its borders. The news channel was backed by Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and partnered with U.S. financial news channel Bloomberg Television. However, the channel was on air for less than 11 hours before it was shut down by Bahrain.[36][37] He was also a political commentator for Saudi Arabian and international channels, including MBC, BBC, Al Jazeera, and Dubai TV.[26] Between June 2012 and September 2016, his opinion columns were regularly published by Al Arabiya.[38]
Citing a report from Middle East Eye, the Independent said in December 2016 that Khashoggi had been banned by Saudi Arabian authorities from publishing or appearing on television "for criticising U.S. President-elect Donald Trump".[39]
Khashoggi relocated to the United States in June 2017[40] and began writing for The Washington Post in September 2017.[41] In the Post, he criticized the Saudi Arabian-led blockade against Qatar, Saudi Arabia's dispute with Lebanon,[42] Saudi Arabia's diplomatic dispute with Canada, and the Kingdom's crackdown on dissent and media.[43] Khashoggi supported some of Crown Prince's reforms, like allowing women to drive,[44] but he condemned Saudi Arabia's arrest of Loujain al-Hathloul, who was ranked third in the list of "Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Women 2015", Eman al-Nafjan, Aziza al-Yousef, and several other women's rights advocates involved in the women to drive movement and the anti male-guardianship campaign.[42]
Speaking to the BBC's Newshour, Khashoggi criticized Israel's settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying: "There was no international pressure on the Israelis and therefore the Israelis got away with building settlements, demolishing homes."[45]
Kashoggi criticized the Saudi war on Yemen, writing "The longer this cruel war lasts in Yemen, the more permanent the damage will be. The people of Yemen will be busy fighting poverty, cholera and water scarcity and rebuilding their country. The crown prince [Mohammed bin Salman] must bring an end to the violence," and "Saudi Arabia's crown prince must restore dignity to his country — by ending Yemen's cruel war."[46]
According to The Spectator, "With almost two million Twitter followers, he was the most famous political pundit in the Arab world and a regular guest on the major TV news networks in Britain and the United States."[32] In 2018, Khashoggi established a new political party called Democracy for the Arab World Now, posing a political threat to Crown Prince Mohammed.[32] He wrote in a Post column on 3 April 2018 that Saudi Arabia "should return to its pre-1979 climate, when the government restricted hard-line Wahhabi traditions. Women today should have the same rights as men. And all citizens should have the right to speak their minds without fear of imprisonment."[42]
Khashoggi was acquainted with Osama bin Laden in the 1980s and 1990s in Afghanistan while Bin Laden was championing his jihad against the Soviets. Khashoggi interviewed bin Laden several times, usually meeting bin Laden in Tora Bora, and once more in Sudan in 1995.[47][48] During that period, he was employed by Saudi Arabian intelligence agencies to try to influence bin Laden into making a compromise with the Saudi royal family in their rivalry. [citation needed]
Al Arabiya reported that Khashoggi once tried to persuade bin Laden to quit violence.[49] Khashoggi was the only non-royal Saudi Arabian who knew of the royals' intimate dealing with al-Qaeda in the lead-up to the September 11 terrorist attacks. He dissociated himself from bin Laden following the attacks.[32]
Khashoggi wrote in response to the September 11 attacks: "The most pressing issue now is to ensure that our children can never be influenced by extremist ideas like those 15 Saudis who were misled into hijacking four planes that fine September day, piloting them, and us, straight into the jaws of hell."[47]
Main article: Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi |
Disappearance and killing of Jamal Khashoggi | |
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Location | Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey |
Date | 2 October 2018[2] |
Attack type | Assassination and dismemberment (allegedly)[12][13] |
Victim | Jamal Khashoggi |
Perpetrators | Allegedly directed by Mohammad bin Salman (Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia) and led by General Ahmed al-Assiri[50][51] |
Assailants | 15-member team brought in from Saudi Arabia[52] |
Motive | Removing a prominent dissident and critic of the Saudi Arabian leadership (allegedly)[52] |
Inquiry | Ongoing |
Khashoggi was last seen going inside the main entrance of the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul at around 1 pm on 2 October 2018, in order to obtain a document that proved he was divorced.[15][53] This document would allow him to marry his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish citizen, who waited outside.[15][54] As he did not come out after 4 pm, though the working hours of the consulate were until 3:30 pm, his fiancée reported him missing when the consulate closed.[55] The Saudi Arabian government said that he had left the consulate[56][57][58] via a back entrance.[59] The Turkish government said that he was still inside, and his fiancée and friends said that he was missing.[60]
Turkish authorities have claimed that security camera footage of the day of the incident was removed from the consulate, and that Turkish consulate staff were abruptly told to take a holiday on the day Khashoggi disappeared while inside the building.[61] Turkish police investigators told the media that the recordings from the security cameras did not show any evidence of Khashoggi leaving the consulate.[62] A security camera was located outside the consulate's front which had showed him entering but not leaving, while another camera installed at a preschool opposite the rear entrance of the consulate also did not show him leaving.[62]
Analysts have suggested that Khashoggi might have been considered especially dangerous by the Saudi Arabian leadership because he was not a long-time dissident, but rather a pillar of the Saudi Arabian establishment who was close to its ruling circles for decades, had worked as an editor at Saudi Arabian news outlets and had been an adviser to a former Saudi Arabian intelligence chief.[52]
Reuters reported on 11 October that Turkish officials were investigating whether Khashoggi's Apple Watch would reveal clues as to what happened to him inside the Saudi Arabian consulate, examining whether data from the smartwatch could have been transmitted to the cloud, or his personal phone, which was with his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz.[63]
On the evening of 14 October, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and King Salman announced that a deal had been made for a "jointing working group" to examine the case.[64] On 15 October the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that an "inspection" of the consulate, by both Turkish and Saudi Arabian officials, would take place that afternoon.[65][66] According to an anonymous source from the Attorney General's office, Turkish officials found evidence of "tampering" during the inspection, and evidence that supports the belief Khashoggi was killed.[14] Turkish President Erdoğan said that "investigation is looking into many things such as toxic materials and those materials being removed by painting them over".[67]
On the same day, after speaking to the Saudi Arabian king by phone, Trump said that Salman “denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened... The denial was very, very strong, It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows?”[64] On 16 October, Secretary Mike Pompeo "reiterated U.S. concern over Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance" in a meeting with King Salman in Riyadh, while also thanking the king for his "commitment to a thorough, transparent investigation".[68][69]
According to anonymous sources, Turkish police have expanded the search, as Khashoggi's body may have been disposed of in a nearby forest or on farmland, and DNA tests of samples from the Saudi consulate and the consul's residence are being conducted;[70] Al Jazeera reported that according to anonymous sources, fingerprints of one of the alleged perpetrators, Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy, were found in the consulate.[71]
According to numerous anonymous police sources, the Turkish police believe that Khashoggi was tortured and killed inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul[72][73] by a 15-member team brought in from Saudi Arabia for the operation.[74][75] One anonymous police source claimed that the dead body was chopped to pieces and quietly moved out of the consulate, and all of this was "videotaped to prove the mission had been accomplished and the tape was taken out of the country".[73]
On 7 October, Turkish officials pledged to release evidence showing that Khashoggi was killed.[75] Yasin Aktay, an adviser to the Turkish president, initially said he believed Khashoggi had been killed in the consulate,[73] but on 10 October he claimed that "the Saudi state is not blamed here", something that a journalist for The Guardian saw as Turkey trying not to harm lucrative trade ties and a delicate regional relationship with Saudi Arabia.[61] Turkey then claimed to have audio and video evidence of the killing occurring inside the consulate.[76] Trump said the U.S. had asked Turkey for the recording.[77]
CNN reported on 15 October that Saudi Arabia was about to admit to the killing, but would claim that it was an "interrogation gone bad", as opposed to a targeted death squad killing.[78][79] This claim drew criticism from some, considering that Khashoggi was reportedly dismembered and that his killing was allegedly premeditated, and the circumstances, including the arrival and departure of a team of 15, included forensic specialists presumed to have been present to hide evidence of the crime, on the same day.[80]
The next day, the Middle East Eye reported that, according to an anonymous Turkish source, the killing took about seven minutes and forensic specialist Salah Muhammed al-Tubaigy cut Khashoggi's body into pieces while Khashoggi was still alive, as he and his colleagues listened to music.[81] The source further claimed that "Khashoggi was dragged from consul general Mohammad al-Otaibi's office at the Saudi consulate ... Tubaigy began to cut Khashoggi’s body up on a table in the study while he was still alive," and "There was no attempt to interrogate him. They had come to kill him."[82]
The Turkish pro-government newspaper Daily Sabah reported on 18 October that neighbours to the consul's residence had observed an unusual barbecue party, which the paper suggested might have been to smoke-screen the smell from the incineration of the dismembered corpse: "We have been living here for twelve years but I have never seen them having a barbecue party. That day, they had a barbecue party in the garden."[83]
The Wall Street Journal published reports from anonymous sources that Khashoggi was tortured in front of top Saudi diplomat Mohammad al-Otaibi, Saudi Arabia's consul general.[84][85] Reuters reported that al-Otaibi left Istanbul for Riyadh on 16 October. His departure came hours before his home was expected to be searched in relation to the journalist's disappearance.[86]
On 20 October, the Saudi Foreign Ministry reported that a preliminary investigation showed that Khashoggi had died at the consulate while engaged in a fistfight, the first Saudi acknowledgement of Khashoggi's death.[87]
Al-Waqt news quoted informed sources as saying that Mohammad bin Salman had assigned Ahmad Asiri, the deputy head of the Al-Mukhabarat Al-A'amah[50] and the former spokesman for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition in Yemen, with the mission to execute Khashoggi inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. Another military officer with a great deal of experience in dealing with dissidents was the second candidate for the mission.[51] On the same day, Turkish media close to the president published images of what it described as a 15-member "assassination squad" allegedly sent to kill Khashoggi, and of a black van later traveling from the Saudi Arabian consulate to the consul's home.[88] On 17 October the Daily Sabah, a news outlet close to the Turkish president, published the names and pictures of the 15-member Saudi team apparently taken at passport control.[89] Additional details about identities were also reported along with their aliases.[90] The outlet named and detailed:
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman claimed Khashoggi left the consulate shortly after the visit.[97] The English-language Arab News on 10 October 2018 reported that the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the U.S., Prince Khalid bin Salman, "condemns ‘malicious leaks and grim rumors’ surrounding Khashoggi disappearance" and that "the reports that suggest that Jamal Khashoggi went missing in the Consulate in Istanbul or that the Kingdom's authorities have detained him or killed him are absolutely false, and baseless".[98][99] Saudi Arabia threatened to retaliate "if it is [targeted by] any action".[100] Turki Aldakhil, the head of Al Arabiya, the Saudi Arabian-owned pan-Arab television based in Dubai, wrote that "If President Trump was angered by $80 oil, nobody should rule out the price jumping to $100 and $200 a barrel or maybe double that figure." However, the Saudi embassy in Washington said Al Dakhil didn’t represent the official position of Saudi Arabia, and Khalid A. Al-Falih, the Saudi energy minister, said his country "will continue to be a responsible actor and keep oil markets stable." Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter.[101]
Saudi Arabia's Office of Public Prosecution tweeted that "producing rumors or fake news [that Saudi Arabia's government was involved in the disappearance of Khashoggi] that would affect the public order or public security or sending or resending it via social media or any technical means" is punishable "by five years and a fine of 3 million riyals".[102][103]
Al Arabiya claimed that reports of Khashoggi’s disappearance inside the Saudi Arabian consulate have been pushed by Qatar. According to the Saudi Arabian daily newspaper Okaz, Qatar has a "50 percent ownership of the [Washington] Post and has influence over its editorial direction." Saudi Arabian daily newspaper Al Yaum has claimed that members of the death squad were in fact tourists.[104]
Al Jazeera reported on 13 October that "the Arab world stays silent...there's been no official reaction from any Arab government, and hardly any condemnation from Arab media."[105]
On 19 October, after 18 days of denial of any involvement with Khashoggi’s disappearance, the Saudi government admitted that Khashoggi had been killed in the consulate. They claimed that 15 officials had been sent to confront Khashoggi but discussions between Khashoggi and the officials turned into a fistfight that ended with Khashoggi being strangled, and a cover-up of the death. Five high-ranking officials have been removed from their posts, including Saudi Royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani and deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Asiri, and 18 Saudis have been detained.[17][106][107]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan demanded that the Saudi Arabian government provide proof for their claims that Khashoggi left the consulate alive, something that Turkish police CCTV did not capture.[108]
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Saudi Arabia "to support a thorough investigation of Mr. Khashoggi's disappearance and to be transparent about the results of that investigation."[109] President Trump expressed concern about the fate of Khashoggi.[110] U.S. Senator Chris Murphy wrote that if the reports of Khashoggi's killing are true, "it should represent a fundamental break" in Saudi Arabia–United States relations.[111] Murphy also called for at least a temporary halt in U.S. military support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[112] United States Congress can block or modify an arms sale.[113]
Former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia Robert Jordan said on 12 October that he is 95 percent certain that Saudi Arabia killed Jamal Khashoggi.[114]
U.S. Senator Rand Paul said that he would attempt to force a vote on blocking the future U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia.[116] Senator Bob Corker, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Trump over Khashoggi’s disappearance. Signed by the entire Committee other than Senator Paul who prepared his own letter, it "instructs the administration to determine whether Khashoggi was indeed kidnapped, tortured, or murdered by the Saudi government and, as the Global Magnitsky Act requires, to respond within 120 days with a determination of sanctions against individuals who may have been responsible."[99]
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders denounced the Trump administration, saying that "Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman feels emboldened by the Trump administration’s unquestioning support."[99]
President Trump told journalists: "I know [Senators] are talking about different kinds of sanctions, but [the Saudi Arabians] are spending $110 billion on military equipment and on things that create jobs for this country."[117] Trump, in responding specifically to the Senate's attempt to block the Saudi Arabian arms deal, stated that the blocking of such a deal "would not be acceptable to me."[118] While opposing trade sanctions, Trump remained open to the possibility of other forms of what he described as the "severe punishment" of Saudi Arabia.[100] According to the New York Times, Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance comes "at a fraught moment for the Trump administration, which is expected to reimpose harsh sanctions against Iran on November 5, with the intent of cutting off all Iranian oil exports. But to make the strategy work, the administration is counting on its relationship with the Saudis to keep global oil flowing... and to work together on a new policy to contain Iran in the Persian Gulf."[119]
The Washington Post reported on 9 October that "the U.S. intelligence intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to capture" Khashoggi.[120] The intercepted communications were regarded as significant because Khashoggi is a legal resident of the United States, and is therefore entitled to protection. According to NSA officials, the White House was warned of this threat through official intelligence channels.[121]
According to Rami George Khouri, a professor of journalism at the American University of Beirut, "The case of Jamal Khashoggi, unfortunately, is only the tip of the iceberg...it would only be the most dramatic example of a trend that has been ongoing for at least 30 to 40 years, but which has escalated under [Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammad bin Salman]".[122]
Commenting on Pompeo's smiling photo op with Mohammad Bin Salman, an anonymous source close to the Pompeo's meeting with Mohammad Bin Salman said that the photo was not indicating that the meeting had been friendly. The source said that Bin Salman had received Pompeo's warning to deal with the incident. According to the CNN, Pompeo told Mohammad Bin Salman that "his future as king depends on his handling of Jamal Khashoggi's suspected murder."[123]
Commenting on the Saudi explanation that Khashoggi died inside the consulate after a fistfight, Trump said he considered it credible and called the official statement a "good first step".[17]
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt met the Saudi Arabian ambassador and warned Saudi Arabia that the long-term friendship between the UK and Saudi Arabia depends on "shared values".[124] The Labour Party's Shadow First Secretary of State, Emily Thornberry, criticized Theresa May's government's response to Khashoggi's disappearance as 'too little, too late'.[125]
On 19 October the former chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), John Sawers, told the BBC that all the evidence suggested Crown Prince Salman was behind the death of Khashoggi, and that the theory that rogue elements in the Saudi military were responsible was "blatant fiction".[126][127]
Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the German parliamentary foreign affairs committee, criticized Donald Trump’s comments, "The decisive factor now is the behaviour of the U.S. president, who basically told the crown prince, we are giving you free rein as long as you buy enough weapons and other things from us."[128] However, The Washington Post on 15 October reported that "While Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement over the weekend in which they called for a “credible investigation,” none of the three countries have gone beyond the remarks so far voiced by the White House. If anything, they’ve been even less vocal. While U.S. pressure on Trump has been bipartisan, in Europe, calls to punish Saudi Arabia have mostly come from opposition parties. ... While German observers have lashed out at Trump for refusing to punish the Saudis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said the Khashoggi case and German exports to Riyadh were "two unrelated things"."[129]
Middle East Eye reported on 15 October that "Largely silent until Sunday, Arab leaders come out publicly in support of kingdom after US President Donald Trump threatens 'severe punishment'."[130] According to the Arab League, "It is totally unacceptable, in the context of relations between countries, to wave economic sanctions as a policy or tool to achieve political goals."[130]
United Arab Emirates's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted that "the repercussions of the political targeting of Saudi Arabia will be dire for those who fuel it. It remains that the success of Saudi Arabia is what the region and its people want."[130]
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that "Palestine was – and shall remain – on the side of Saudi Arabia."[130]
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in a statement that he stood in solidarity with Saudi Arabia "in the face of the campaigns targeting it".[130]
Ahmed Hafidh, Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman, said that "Egypt reaffirms its support for the kingdom in its efforts and positions dealing with this event."[130]
Yemen's president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has been living in exile in Saudi Arabia since 2015, said that "The cheap political and media targeting of Saudi Arabia will not deter it from continuing its leading role in the Arab and Islamic worlds."[130]
Bahrain’s foreign ministry released a statement that Saudi Arabia is "the essential foundation for the security and stability of the Arab and Islamic worlds and the solid foundation and strong pillar of stability in the region."[130]
Richard Branson issued a statement on 11 October that he was suspending his advisory role for the two Saudi Vision 2030-related projects amidst the Khashoggi controversy.[131]
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon,[132] BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, The Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman,[133] Google Cloud Chief Executive Diane Greene,[134] Viacom CEO Robert Bakish, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, AOL co-founder Steve Case, Richard Branson's Virgin Group, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, the Financial Times, Bloomberg, CNN, The New York Times, The Economist, CNBC, and Ford Motor chairman Bill Ford all withdrew their participation in the Saudi Future Investment Initiative (FII), which is in its second year.[135][136] Y Combinator CEO Sam Altman announced that he is suspending his "involvement with the NEOM advisory board until the facts regarding Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance are known."[137]
The French finance minister Bruno Le Maire, Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra, British Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde withdrew their participation in the FII conference as well.[138]
Bahrain's foreign minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa called for a boycott of Uber in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia,[139] urging to "boycott anyone who boycotts Saudi Arabia." The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia invested $3.5 billion in Uber in 2016.[132]
In the face of the incident, professional wrestling promotion WWE faced a large amount of criticism around the world for going forward with their event in Saudi Arabia, Crown Jewel, resulting in calls to cancel the show, most notably from several United States senators, including Lindsey Graham and Bob Menendez. English comedian and political commentator John Oliver also weighed in on the controversy on his show Last Week Tonight.[140] Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, who wrestles for WWE under the ring name Kane, is scheduled to take part in the show. A spokesperson for the mayor was quoted as saying that "Mayor Jacobs won't speculate on Mr. Khashoggi's disappearance, (...) however, he and his family are in the mayor's thoughts and prayers." Jacobs still intends to wrestle as Kane at the show.[141]
On 18 October Twitter suspended a number of suspected bot accounts constructed to smear Khashoggi.[142][143]