The children of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have received multimillion-dollar homes and are being paid large sums each month to ensure they “continue to show restraint in their public statements”, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Khashoggi — a contributor to the Post and a critic of the Saudi government — was killed and dismembered in October at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul by a team of 15 agents sent from Riyadh. His body has not been recovered.
The payments to his four children — two sons and two daughters — “are part of an effort by Saudi Arabia to reach a long-term arrangement with Khashoggi family members, aimed in part at ensuring that they continue to show restraint in their public statements,” the Post claimed.
The houses given to the Khashoggi children are located in the port city of Jeddah and are worth up to $4 million, the newspaper claimed
Salah, the eldest of the children, plans to continue living in the kingdom, while the others, who live in the United States, are expected to sell the homes, the paper reported.
In addition to the properties, the children are receiving $10,000 or more per month and may also receive larger payments that could amount to tens of millions of dollars each, according to the report.
Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been accused of orchestrating Khashoggi’s killing, but the kingdom has claimed that the prince was not involved.
Saudi Arabia initially said it had no knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate but later blamed rogue agents for his death.
Its public prosecutor has charged 11 people over his murder.
Who gave the order to kill Khashoggi?
In a related development Khashoggi’s fiancée was quoted as telling France 24 ‘I want to know who gave the order to kill Jamal’
Khashoggi was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. He had gone there to collect documents for his upcoming marriage to his Turkish fiancée Hatice Cengiz. His brutal murder sparked an outcry around the world and tarnished the reputation of Saudi Arabia, which was accused of involvement in his murder. Cengiz spoke to FRANCE 24 about living with grief and how she hopes the truth will emerge about Khashoggi’s killing.
In another related development Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was reportedly furious at The Washington Post’s intensive coverage of the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and for this reason he was accused of hacking Jeff Bezos’ phone. Bezos owns The Post, along with his day job as CEO of Amazon.
FRANCE24/AFP
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