Washington Post Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah was totally and righteously enraged after she read the bogus claims from the Saudi Arabian government that the assassination of her writer Jamal Khashoggi was nothing more than an accident from a “fistfight.”
In an impassioned series of tweets, Attiah expressed her anger and frustration after hearing the Saudi lies.
“Utter bullsh*t,” she had written at the beginning of her comments, but she later deleted those two words. Her first tweet then read:
“Khashoggi was a 60-year-old man. What sort of equal “fight” would he have had against 15 other men? And who brings a bone saw to a ‘discussion?!’ The stupidity of the Saudi explanation is mind-boggling.”
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#Khashoggi was a 60 year old man. What sort of equal “fight" would he have had against 15 other men? And who brings a bone saw to a “discussion”?!
The stupidity of the Saudi explanation is mind boggling….
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) October 20, 2018
Saudi state television explained that a member of Mohammed bin Salman’s inner circle was the one who actually killed the journalist. The government explained that the man has been dismissed, but Attiah found any denials from the crown prince absurd.
In her second tweet the Washington Post editor asked:
“And we are supposed to believe, that Mohammed Bin Salman had no knowledge of this, even though his right-hand man has been implicated, and a team of 15 men flew in on private planes entered a consulate on foreign soil to carry this out?”
And we are supposed to believe, that Mohammed Bin Salman had no knowledge of this, even though his right hand man has been implicated, and a team of 15 men flew in on private planes entered a consulate on foreign soil to carry this out? #Khashoggi
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) October 20, 2018
In her third tweet Attiah took issue with the implication that her journalist’s death was an accident.
“What I hate about the statement is the use of the passive construction to imply this was an accident. Jamal didn’t just ‘die during a struggle.’ Khashoggi was killed. By Saudi men. In a consulate. His life was taken from him.”
What I hate about the statement is the use of the passive construction to imply this was an accident. Jamal didn’t just “die during a struggle.” #Khashoggi was killed. By Saudi men. In a consulate. His life was taken from him.
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) October 20, 2018
Another person on Twitter named Susan Foster Quintana quoted Mohammed bin Salman’s close associate from another interview, where he made very clear that the crown prince (referred to as MBS) knows and sees all, and nothing happens without his direction.
”‘Do you think I can act by myself without taking orders/guidance?’ said MSB’s now-fired very close adviser Saud al-Qahtani in a tweet last year. ‘I am an employee and a trustworthy executive to the orders of the king and the crown prince.’”
“Do you think I can act by myself without taking orders/guidance?” said MSB's now-fired very close adviser Saud al-Qahtani in a tweet last year. “I am an employee and a trustworthy executive to the orders of the king and the crown prince.”
— Susan FosterQuintana (@sfqlovesrqf) October 20, 2018
We should thank Karen Attiah and the Washington Post for standing up for their murdered writer, Jamal Khashoggi. His death must not be swept under the carpet as if his life didn’t mean anything. All human life is precious, and journalists’ lives must be protected because of the additional danger they are in. The free press is under attack by authoritarian regimes throughout the world, including by Donald Trump in the United States.
We need to remember the life of Khashoggi, and remember not only his courage but what he stood for. The freedom of all humanity depends on freedom of the press, and the more it is under attack the more we must protect it and hold it dear.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
