The widow of The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been granted political asylum in the US over five years after her husband was murdered in Istanbul by Saudi government operatives.
Speaking to The Post about a letter she received informing her of the decision, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi said: “I couldn’t really believe it. I said ‘Is this real?’ I couldn’t digest it.
The decision “shows there is one victim who is still alive,” she added.
The couple married in Northern Virginia in 2018 but, at the time of Khashoggi’s death that October, he was reportedly arranging to marry another woman, Hatice Cengiz.
On the day of his death, Khashoggi had gone to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain a document requested by her father confirming that he was not married in Saudi Arabia. He didn’t leave the consulate alive.
US intelligence later determined that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s death – a revelation that caused a rift in US-Saudi relations.
“The Crown Prince viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the Kingdom and broadly supported using violent measures if necessary to silence him,” the intelligence report stated.
The Washington Post columnist had been a staunch critic of the Saudi regime and advocated for freedom of expression and democratic reform.
Around 2018, Saudi officials warned him not to return to the kingdom, causing him to settle in Virginia.
Hanan El-Atr and Jamal Khashoggi married four months before his murder— (Hanan El-Atr)
Following his murder, Ms Elatr Khashoggi applied for US asylum, saying that Egypt had detained and mistreated her family and confiscated their passports because of her relationship with the columnist.
Four months before his death, she said the UAE also detained and interrogated her and put military-grade spyware on her confiscated photos.
In a written statement following the asylum decision, US Representative Don Beyer said: “Hanan Khashoggi has the clearest case for political asylum imaginable, and I am happy that I could help her get this vital protection.”
“After all that she and her family have been through, it is good to see them granted this recognition and measure of security that will come with it,” the Democrat from Virginia said.
“I will continue to support Mrs Khashoggi as she seeks accountability for her husband’s murder, a terrible injustice which I will not forget.”
