One month in front of President Joe Biden’s journey to Saudi Arabia, Columbia District changed the name of the road in front of Way Jamal Khashoggi, Trolling Riyadh because of his role in the murder of activists and Saudi journalists who were in 2018.
With board members D.C. What was present, the sign of Jamal Khashoggi was launched directly in front of the main entrance of the embassy.
“We intend to remind people who hide behind these doors … that we make them responsible and we will ask for their responsibility for the killing of our friends,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Dawn Executive Director, Pro-Arab World Pro-Arab -Arab the democratic organization was founded by Khashoggi before his death.
Whitson also criticized what he called “shameless capitulation” from the Biden administration for looking for a better relationship with the Saudi government and scheduled an official president’s visit to the kingdom.
Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and the Washington Post columnist, entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, looking for the documentation needed for the planned marriage with his fiance waiting outside for him. The 59 -year -old man never appeared.
The Saudi government initially denied making mistakes. But under the increasing international pressure, Riyadh finally admitted that Khashoggi had been killed in the consulate in what Saudi was characterized as a wrong repatriation effort. CIA then released a report that concluded that Khashoggi was killed and cut into the orders of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Saudi regime consistently denied the relationship. Several lower -level Saudi officials and agents received prison sentences for the murder.
Council D.C. A round voice chose the end of last year to change the name of one block for Khashoggi. Renaming is a ceremony, as marked by a sign of the brown road instead of ordinary green, and that will not have an impact on the address of the embassy letter. But the sign will remain unlimited. Email to the Saudi Embassy looking for comments does not receive responses.
Khashoggi’s Turkish fiance, Hatice Cengiz, could not attend the ceremony, but a statement from him was read hard.
In it, he bitterly criticized the administration of Biden for “putting oil on the principles and policies on principles.”
Cengiz also directly asked Biden, when he met the Crown Prince, “Can you at least ask,” Where is Jamal’s body? “
Karine Jean Pierre, the Press Secretary of the White House, would not say whether Biden would raise the murder problem of Khashoggi when he met with Bin Salman next month.
“The president is a straight shooter. This is not something he fearing to be discussed, “he said. But he did not confirm whether the murder would be the topic of conversation.
Government D.C. Has a history of such public movements to make trolls or embarrass foreign governments. In February 2018, the road in front of the Russian Embassy was Boris Nemtsov Plaza, after a Russian activist shot dead while walking on a bridge near Kremlin in 2015.
On the previous site from the Russian Embassy, a road was replaced for Russian old dissidents Andrei Sakharov.
Renama road on Wednesday is basically a campaign formalization driven by independent activists that have lasted for years. Shortly after Khashoggi’s death, local activist Claude Taylor began to place signs of the Jamal Khashoggi road that looked realistic around the city, including outside the embassy. Taylor said he had 10 signs in various places at one point, including one near the Dupont circle which lasted for two years before being damaged.
This is only a form of public protest with aspects of performing arts,” said Taylor.
Although he recorded while laughing that he was not invited to the ceremony on Wednesday, Taylor said, “I am glad that the city did the right thing and I was glad he was recognized this way.”