To: Mohammad bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump
Return the Remains of Jamal Khashoggi to His Family
Saudi authorities should return the body of the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi to his family. They should also return all other bodies of those executed or killed by the Saudi government.
Why is this important?
The Saudi government admits that Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in its consulate in Istanbul, Turkey by its own agents but has yet to offer any official indications about the fate of his body. So added to the terrible grief felt by the family over the murder is their humiliation as they cannot even offer a proper burial for their loved one.
Khashoggi’s family is not alone in this suffering. At the start of 2016, Sheikh Nimr al Nimr was executed and his body never given to his family for burial. In fact, this cruel practice of not returning a body of an executed prisoner or of someone killed in a police raid is estimated to have taken place over 30 times in the last two years. It is brutal and immoral and should stop.
The U.S. government which counts the Saudi monarchy as a close ally must pressure the Saudi government to release the body of Khashoggi. He was a resident of the United States and a journalist for one of the U.S.’ most famous newspapers. Certainly, our government which sells the Saudis so many weapons and supports its war in Yemen has enormous influence over the kingdom and can demand this act of decency.