Hatice Cengiz visits Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Washington: Hatice Cengiz, fiancé of slain American-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, meets with Members of Congress and their staff in her continuing pursuit of justice accountability for those responsible for Jamal’s murder.  A citizen of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Khashoggi was a prominent and respected US-based journalist for the Washington Post.  On October 2, 2018, he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey to obtain paperwork for his civil marriage to Ms. Cengiz, however, he was brutally murdered inside the Consulate as Ms. Cengiz waited for him on the street outside.  His remains have never been found.
“I am here for one reason and one reason only – to bring justice and accountability for Jamal, my beloved who was brutally murdered by Saudi agents.  The Trump Administration has failed to take any significant action to hold anyone accountable for this heinous crime, so I am here to ask conscientious members of Congress to ensure accountability and real consequences for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi,” said Cengiz.
In the year since the murder, Cengiz has repeatedly called on the international community for justice.  Cengiz, along with Democracy in the Arab World Now (“DAWN”), have retained former United States Ambassador Keith Harper of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton as their attorney.  Mr. Khashoggi was founding executive director of DAWN to lead its mission of promoting democracy throughout the Arab World.  Ms. Cengiz has also studied and learned English to become a more effective international advocate for Jamal’s legacy.
“Our clients, Ms. Cengiz and DAWN have asked us to pursue accountability in all its forms,” said former Ambassador Harper. “We are exploring all options and we are on the Hill today to ask our nation’s lawmakers to hold accountable Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials who are responsible for this awful crime.  We must remember that Jamal was lured to Istanbul by Saudi Officials in the United States and killed there to silence his advocacy in the United States.”
The Crown Prince reportedly ordered the abduction, torture, murder, dismemberment, and disappearance of Khashoggi in order to silence him and prevent his reporting at the Washington Post and his continuing advocacy for human rights and democracy through his US-based platform at DAWN.
Cengiz continued: “I believe in America as a place to stand for human rights and human dignity. This Nation is about accountability for wrongdoing – and Jamal’s murder was nothing short of a crime against humanity.”