Khashoggi by Robert Scott

    On Tuesday, October 2, at about 1:15 P.M., Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.  He was visiting the Consulate in order to retrieve a document from Saudi officials that could legally declare that he was divorced, as he was to marry a Turkish woman the next day.  Why was he getting divorced?  Well, as I'm sure many formerly married couples can say, Khashoggi's marriage was under strain.  Unlike those couples,  however, Khashoggi's marriage had fallen through because he was then in a state of voluntary exile from his home country, Saudi Arabia.  Khashoggi had made a life for himself as a journalist, even becoming an unofficial spokesperson for the Saudi Arabian royal family.  However, after the current crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salaman, came to power, Khashoggi decided that the crown prince's unrivaled control inside the kingdom would clash too hard with his ideals of independence.  Due to this, Khashoggi ended up moving to Virginia and becoming a reporter for The Washington Post.
   While working in Virginia, Khashoggi built himself up as one the the biggest critics of Prince Salaman in the west.  Given that the crown prince had not taken kindly to critics in the past, it is likely that Prince Salaman did not appreciate Khashoggi's work.  It has also come to light that Jamal Khashoggi held a close tie to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement that was recently declared as a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia.  Both of these details could be reasons as to why Prince Salaman possibly ordered for Khashoggi to be either abducted or killed inside the Consulate, explaining his disappearance (this is the main theory being discussed).  As time goes on, it is becoming more and more likely that said theory is true, with recent reports even describing that Khashoggi's body parts have been found in the Saudi consul general's property in Istanbul.  These reports have yet to be confirmed, and it is still unknown whether or not Khashoggi's possible death is positively linked to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, though his father, the king of Saudi Arabia, has stated that they will hold whoever killed Khashoggi responsible.  With that statement, it is almost certain that Jamal Khashoggi has been killed, though by who and why is still up to questioning.
    This whole mystery involving Khashoggi is most likely going to have lasting affects on the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.  The two countries had been starting to gain some traction towards less tense political stances, but after this the future seems to be a turbulent one.

Jamal Khashoggi