Podcast: The Disappearance Of A Saudi Journalist

The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, is still a great mystery. One week has passed since he vanished in Turkey, after entering the Saudi consulate to follow the legal procedures before getting married.

Saudi Arabia maintains that Khashoggi left the consulate, but Turkish investigators have concluded that he might have been killed inside the consulate, dismembered, and his body placed in suitcases or boxes. His fiancee and friends waited for him in front of the consulate until 1am on October 2, but they never saw him leave.

Jamal Khashoggi is a renowned journalist, very well connected to the royal family. For years, he acted as a spokesman for the embassy in Washington and in this podcast he is described as someone who helped the West understand Saudi Arabia.

Things changed after Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, came to power. And Khashoggi, who became very critical of the crown, left the country last year fearing something might happen to him.

Two private jets landing in Istanbul that day and a hit team add more intrigue to the story. Information keeps coming out, and according to Turkish officials, the Saudis who landed in Istanbul that day brought a bone saw.

Michael Barbaro and Carlotta Gall, Istanbul bureau chief of The New York Times, discuss the implications for the Crown prince and Saudi Arabia's relationship with the West if the claims prove to be true, and what might have been Salman's intentions behind this violation.

On Wednesday, four members of the Senate opened an investigation, putting the Trump administration in an uncomfortable position. President Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner have elevated the prince into a key ally. If Saudi Arabia is found guilty, the administration must impose sanctions under a six-year-old federal law designed to punish violations of human rights.