Washington to rename street in front of Saudi embassy after Khashoggi

The Washington city council has voted for a bill to name the street in front of the embassy of Saudi Arabia "Jamal Khashoggi Way”, in honor of the dissident Saudi journalist murdered in 2018.

The council on Tuesday unanimously passed the 'Jamal Khashoggi Way Designation Act,' under which the 700-foot (213-meter) stretch of New Hampshire Avenue that runs between the Saudi embassy and the Watergate complex will get the slain journalist’s name.

Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the Saudi regime, was murdered and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 after traveling there from the United States.

Next month, the street in front of the Saudi embassy in Washington DC will officially be designated as Jamal Khashoggi Way. The decision by the DC council was unanimous.

— Stephanie Kirchgaessner (@skirchy) December 8, 2021

The squad that executed the secret operation was directly connected to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who has been accused of authorizing the diabolical murder.

A February US intelligence report that established bin Salman’s direct complicity in the murder had prompted calls for penalties against the man next in line to the Saudi throne.

The then-UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, also found the crown prince responsible for Khashoggi's death.

Callamard called upon the international community to ensure accountability for the murder and to memorialize Khashoggi through symbolic measures, including events or awards in his honor.

"Through his journalism, Jamal Khashoggi was a fierce advocate for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law," said a Washington city council report on the bill.

"By designating the street fronting the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi, the District is creating a memorial in his honor that cannot be covered up or repressed," it said.

'We don’t punish state leaders': Biden defends inaction on MBS in Khashoggi murder

US President Joe Biden has defended his decision against any punishment for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

The bill from the council is expected to be signed by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and move through the US Congress without objection, reports said.

Brooke Pinto, a council member in a statement said Khashoggi risked his freedom and life “by shining a light on Saudi Arabia and seeking truth”.

"This name change demonstrates the values of District residents of a free and independent press,” he noted.

Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said renaming the street in front of the Saudi embassy in honor of Khashoggi will be an “important gesture in support of accountability for his brutal murder”.

Medea Benjamin, cofounder of peace group CODEPINK, in a tweet expressed happiness over the move.

“So excited that the street in front of the Saudi Embassy will be renamed Jamal Khashoggi Way!!! Thank you DC City Council for your unanimous vote. DC could teach Biden a thing or two about human rights!!!,” she wrote.

Activists back in December 2018, two months after his killing, had put up a "Khashoggi Way" sign outside the Saudi embassy in Washington, as a mark of protest against the Saudi regime.

“Khashoggi Way” sign has been put up in protest of the @washingtonpost columnist’s death outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy by anti-President Trump PAC Mad Dog.
DC Council chair blocked an effort to officially name this block that because of rule that a person must be dead 2 years pic.twitter.com/wqhiCsR2oR

— Tom Roussey (@tomroussey7news) December 4, 2018

It was after a neighbourhood advisory panel unanimously decided to name the street in honour of Khashoggi, who lived in northern Virginia before he was killed.

However, the city council law prohibits the renaming of public spaces for any person who has been dead for less than two years.

While symbolic gestures of solidarity with the victims of the Saudi regime continue, Biden administration recently went ahead with the $650 billion arms sale to Riyadh, disregarding its human rights record.

The deal includes 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), 596 LAU-128 Missile Rail Launchers (MRL) along other equipment and support.

Pertinently, an investigation by the New York Times in June stated that the killers of Khashoggi had received military training in the US as part of a contract approved by the US State Department.

The training came as the secret Saudi unit was engaged in an “extensive campaign of kidnapping, detention and torture of Saudi citizens ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, to crush dissent inside the kingdom,” the report said.

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