Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, the widow of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, late Tuesday evening, said the Saudi crown prince’s high-profile visit to Washington was “very painful,” urging him to meet her directly and apologise for her husband’s killing.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in the US on Tuesday for his first trip since Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in 2018, a case that sparked global condemnation and strained Riyadh’s ties with Washington.
Hanan Khashoggi said it was distressing to watch the lavish reception for the crown prince. “It’s very painful for me,” she has been cited by CNN, adding that the prince was being received “as though he were a head of state.”
After the Oval Office meeting, she publicly called on Mohammed bin Salman to apologise and meet her face-to-face.
Also taking to microblogging site X, she lashed out, “There is no justification to murder my husband". “The Crown Prince said he was sorry, so he should meet me, apologize and compensate me for the murder of my husband, Jamal Khashoggi," she writes.
She reiterated that she had previously written to Trump seeking his help to secure a financial settlement, saying her husband’s killing had “destroyed my life.”
Elatr urged the US administration not to sideline human-rights concerns as it deepens ties with Riyadh. “I hope they look at the American values of human rights and democracy besides any deal and selling weapons,” she said. “There is something missing… real justice.”
Elatr also said her husband had hoped to engage directly with the Saudi leadership.
“It will be better if Jamal were here and receiving the crown prince by himself, and meet him and share with him his vision and mission and all his ideas,” she said. “Jamal actually was waiting for an invitation from the crown prince and wished to have the space to be heard. He had good ideas for his country.”
Trump has, meanwhile, strongly defended the crown prince during their joint appearance, insisting he “knew nothing” about the killing. This, however, contradicts a 2021 US intelligence assessment that concluded he approved the operation.
“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” Trump said when a reporter asked about Khashoggi. “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happened, but he knew nothing about it. You don’t have to embarrass our guest," he stated.
The president later lashed out at the journalist’s employer, calling for ABC’s broadcast licence to be revoked.
Khashoggi, a US resident and vocal critic of the Saudi government, was murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents in 2018. His body has never been found.
Saudi Arabia has denied that the crown prince ordered the killing, blaming rogue operatives. A Saudi trial led to five death sentences and three prison terms; the death sentences were later commuted.
Elatr said that despite diplomatic resets and new defence agreements, justice for her husband remains elusive.
(With inputs from agencies)
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