Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Friends and supporters gathered for a memorial service Friday in honor of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The service was organized by the newly created Justice for Jamal organization, which aims to continue efforts to raise awareness of the journalist's death.
Khashoggi, a Saudi national and columnist for The Washington Post, disappeared Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to receive paperwork he needed to get married. Once inside, he was immediately strangled and then dismembered, according to the Istanbul Prosecutor’s office.
"It is really hard for me to believe that you are really gone," said Nihad Awad, head of the Coalition of Islamic American Relations (CAIR).
Awad, a close friend of Khashoggi for 25 years, said the journalist’s legacy is something the world should not forget, and he planned to make sure the Saudis do not forget either.
The CAIR director told Anadolu Agency he is working on a petition to change the name of the street in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington from New Hampshire Avenue to “Jamal Khashoggi Way.”
Other colleagues of the journalist discussed that his death brings to light other heinous acts against people who show any form of criticism to Saudi Arabia.
“The same exact attorney general who went to Turkey to investigate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered for his peaceful activism and journalism, is actually seeking the death penalty against my father for similar peaceful activism,” said Abdullah Alaoudh, fellow at Georgetown University.
Alaoudh’s father, Salman Alaoudh, an internationally recognized Islamic scholar, is currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and was charged with terrorism against the country.
Slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s body was dismembered in order to dissolve it more easily in acid, said Yasin Aktay, a sociologist and advisor to Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party who was also a friend of Khashoggi.“According to the latest information we have obtained, the reason they dismembered Khashoggi’s body was to dissolve his remains more easily. They intended to leave no trace behind,” he said in an interview with Hürriyet daily.“Murder, killing an innocent person is a separate crime and what they did to his remains is another crime and disgrace,” Aktay added.Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed inside the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on Oct. 2. “We had been informed that Khashoggi’s body was dismembered. But now we see that they did not only dismember his body but also vaporized it.”The Istanbul Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday said that Khashoggi was strangled to death "in a premeditated way" shortly after he entered the consulate to obtain documents for his pending nuptials, adding that his body was disposed of after being dismembered. “His body was not found, even though we traced it with all the current camera systems. There is evidence of this killing. If he knew what would happen after he entered the consulate, would he have gone through the door?” he concluded.After denying any involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi, 59, for two weeks, Saudi Arabia on Oct. 20 acknowledged his death, saying he had died in a fistfight.Since then, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, contradicting the previous official statement that it happened accidentally during a tussle in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.Saudi prince disparaged Khashoggi in US calls: reportGermany hardening line on Saudi Arabia and KhashoggiArab media covers Turkey's Khashoggi statementUS urges return of Khashoggi's remains to family
'Khashoggi’s body was dismembered, dissolved in acid'
Arab media highlighted Turkey's statement about the violent death on Oct. 2 of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul."Victim Jamal Khashoggi was strangled to death -- with premeditation -- soon after he entered the Istanbul Consulate of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Oct. 2, 2018 for wedding procedures," the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Wednesday. "His body was disposed of after being dismembered following his death by suffocation -- again, in line with plans."Saudi Attorney General Saud al-Mujeb, along with a delegation, traveled to Turkey on Oct. 28 and visited the prosecutor's office on Oct. 29.The Arab press highlighted Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Irfan Fidan's investigation of the murder.Saudi prince paying price for Khashoggi killingEuropean media criticize S.Arabia's lack of cooperationSaudi ArabiaCommenting on al-Mujeb’s visit to Turkey, Saudi daily Okaz ran the headline, “Attorney general concludes 72-hour visit by meeting with [Turkish] intelligence and inviting Turkish counterpart [to visit Saudi Arabia].”Notably, the newspaper used the term “death” of Khashoggi instead of “killing” or “murder.”“The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s office announced that the incident was previously planned, and this is what al-Mujeb announced seven days ago, that the [Saudi] Public Prosecutor’s Office received information from the Turkish side pointing out that the suspects carried out their acts with premeditation,” it wrote.EgyptState-run newspapers including Al-Ahram, Al-Khbar, and Al-Gomhuria did not run any stories about the Turkish statement on Khashoggi’s murder.But dailies Al-Shorouk and Al-Masry Al-Youm highlighted the Turkish prosecutors’ statement on their front pages.Al-Shorouk said in its headline “Turkish chief prosecutor: Khashoggi was strangled to death.” “Khashoggi was killed according to a plan previously prepared and his body was dismembered and discarded,” the newspaper said, citing the Turkish statement.Al-Masry Al-Youm cited Anadolu Agency coverage of the Turkish prosecutor saying: “We have been informed that the fate of the body can be revealed in the result of interrogations to be conducted jointly in Saudi Arabia, as well as to determine whether the killing of Jamal Khashoggi was planned or not."It said the Saudi attorney general told the Turkish public prosecutor “there has been no statement from the Saudi side on the presence of a local collaborator in the incident.”QatarAl-Jazeera reported on its website that “officials from Turkish intelligence service let Saudi Attorney General al-Mujeb listen to sound recordings of the killing of Khashoggi.”IranIranian official and semiofficial news agencies -- including IRNA, FHA, Mehr and Tasnim -- reported the Turkish public prosecutor’s statement as breaking news.State TV also highlighted the statement in news bulletins and breaking news tickers.The Tasnim News Agency cited the Turkish public prosecutor saying: “The Saudi attorney general didn’t answer our questions. Khashoggi was strangled to death and his body dismembered.”US urges return of Khashoggi's remains to familyUK: Vigil held for Khashoggi outside Saudi embassy
Arab media covers Turkey's Khashoggi statement
The remains of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi should be located and returned to his family for burial as soon as possible, the U.S. said Thursday.State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters Washington will "hold accountable not only those who executed the murder, but also those who led, were involved and were connected to it."Khashoggi has been missing since Oct. 2 when he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. After offer varying explanations for his disappearance, Saudi Arabia acknowledged he was killed in the diplomatic facility, but sought to shift the blame for his slaying on a "rogue operation."Riyadh has been mum on the location of Khashoggi's remains.World media criticize Saudi Arabia's lack of cooperationUK: Vigil held for Khashoggi outside Saudi embassyGates Foundation stops backing Saudi charity
US urges return of Khashoggi's remains to family
Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's fiancée, also sent a video message to the service, and called on U.S. President Donald Trump to help in obtaining his body.
“I would like you to support Turkey’s legal efforts to bringing light to this situation and to discover the whereabout of his body,” she said.
Following the service, experts participated in a panel discussing on the political environment in Saudi Arabia in light of Khashoggi's death.
Courtney Radsch, journalist and director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, noted the Saudis use public relations firms and software to uplift their social media strategy and spy on dissidents.
“The Pegasus software, which is an Israeli software that is sold by a U.S. company, which was used to spy, potentially, on Jamal Khashoggi,” she added.
They also discussed how Washington-based think-tanks shy away from criticizing Saudi Arabia due to the country’s influence in the U.S.
Human Rights Watch Director Tom Porteous said these think-tanks never stray far from the Washington consensus on foreign policy, in order to appear relevant.
“Another important point is that they accept money from governments. They accept money from the U.S. government. They accept money from Middle Eastern governments, from Bahrain, from Saudi Arabia,” Porteous said.
Norway summoned the Saudi ambassador on Thursday over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Norwegian Foreign Minister said on Friday."We have raised the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and presented our point of view to the Saudi ambassador several times after it was known," Ine Eriksen Soereide said in a statement."We underlined how seriously we take this issue again yesterday, when he was at the Foreign Ministry for a discussion." Pompeo says 'handful more weeks' before US responds to Khashoggi killingIsraeli official says Khashoggi death 'despicable', but Iran greater challenge'Khashoggi’s body was dismembered, dissolved in acid'Saudi prince disparaged Khashoggi in US calls: report
Norway summoned Saudi ambassador over Khashoggi murder
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday it would take a "handful more weeks" before the United States has enough evidence to impose sanctions in response to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.Pompeo, in an interview with KMOX radio in St. Louis, said President Donald Trump had made it clear Washington would respond to the killing. He said the administration is "reviewing putting sanctions on the individuals that we have been able to identify to date that ... were engaged in that murder." 
Pompeo says 'handful more weeks' before US responds to Khashoggi killing
An Israeli official on Friday called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul "despicable" but said that cementing ties with Gulf states in the struggle against Iran was Israel's overriding concern.In his remarks to radio station 102 FM, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz did not explicitly say whether his views were those of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which has been reticent in commenting on the case.Asked about Khashoggi's death, Steinitz said: "It was a despicable action. It's worthy of all reproach. This was a civilian, a journalist, not a terrorist."He went on to say, however, that Israel's struggle against Iran was more pressing."We have a threat that can become an existential threat - the threat of a nuclear Iran, the threat of terror, the threat of spreading through Syria and Lebanon. And Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, are our allies in recent years against the spread of Iran and against the Iranian nuclear threat," he said. 'Khashoggi’s body was dismembered, dissolved in acid'Saudi prince disparaged Khashoggi in US calls: reportGermany hardening line on Saudi Arabia and KhashoggiArab media covers Turkey's Khashoggi statement
Israeli official says Khashoggi death 'despicable', but Iran greater challenge