Investigating the Khashoggi murder: Insights from UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard

Perhaps the most shocking episode of repression in Saudi Arabia’s recent history is the brutal and bizarre murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and columnist for the Washington Post, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Two weeks ago, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, issued a report on Khashoggi’s murder based on a six-month investigation, including access to recordings of events inside the consulate provided by the Turkish government. Her detailed report offers both findings and recommendations to the international community to enable accountability for this murder and the violations of international law and norms it presents. On July 2, Callamard discussed her report in detail in an event hosted by the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings. Joining Callamard were Tamara Cofman Wittes, senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy and Ted Piccone, nonresident senior fellow in Security and Strategy. Following the discussion, the panelists answered questions from the audience.