Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist and Washington Post columnist who was critical of his country’s government, vanished on October 2 in a saga that has gotten more mysterious by the day. The 59-year-old was last seen walking into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
On Friday, October 19, the Saudi Arabian government announced that Khashoggi was dead — saying he was killed inside the consulate at the hands of Saudi government officials. The admission followed weeks of lies and global speculation.
The entire incident is complicating the decades-long US-Saudi relationship, as well as the close relationship between White House adviser Jared Kushner and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.