Members of the media are speaking out on the murder of fellow journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The CEO and publisher of the Washington Post, Fred Ryan, issued a statement claiming that the Government of Saudi Arabia has “repeatedly offered one lie after another” regarding the death.
“This is not an explanation; it is a coverup,” said Ryan.
Khashoggi wrote for the Washington Post beginning in September 2017 after he relocated to the United States.
PEN America, a writer’s advocacy group based out of Washington, DC, issued a statement of their own, demanding an independent, international investigation.
“The admission by Saudi authorities that Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in their custody plainly exposes all their previous claims about his fate as flagrant lies,” reads the statement. “It is absurd to entrust the investigation of Khashoggi’s murder to those most likely to have ordered it.”
While Saudi Arabia has acknowledged the death of Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, their story behind the death has fluctuated wildly. Their most recent cover story has been that a fight had broken out between Khashoggi and some 15 people who met him at the consulate, and this fight left to Khashoggi’s death.
The National Press Club also spoke out, expressing sadness over the death, and calling on the President, the Secretary of State, and the United Nations to take action.
“The best memorial for a journalist is pursuit of the truth,” said National Press Club President Andrea Edney in the statement.
The White House has said it would “advocate for justice” into the death, but President Trump has remained largely pro-Saudi in his own response. At best, he has said he might consider sanctions against, but noted the importance of the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia.
Image by April Brady/Project on Middle East Democracy via Flickr and a CC license