Keyword: Jamal Khashoggi

The Paris-Dakar car rally gets lost in the sands of Saudi propaganda

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Preparations for the Paris-Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on January 2nd 2020. © REUTERS Preparations for the Paris-Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on January 2nd 2020. © REUTERS

The Paris-Dakar Rally, often now known simply as the Dakar Rally or Dakar, has been held most years since 1979, and this rally through desert sands is one of the most high-profile motor sports events on the planet. The 2020 rally, which began on Sunday January 5th, is taking place for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Mediapart's Middle East correspondent René Backmann argues in this opinion article that underneath the media din and razzmatazz, the event is nothing more than a PR exercise by the Saudi regime to persuade people to forget its despotic, fundamentalist and brutal nature, as well as the scale of its crimes.

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France's shameful silence over Khashoggi murder trial verdicts

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The trial in Saudi Arabia of 11 men accused of murdering journalist Jamal Khashoggi in November 2018 ended on December 23rd with the death sentence pronounced against five of the defendants. “These verdicts are the antithesis of justice: the hit men are sentenced to death, potentially permanently silencing key witnesses, but the apparent masterminds walk free,” said UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnès Callamard. In this opinion article, Mediapart Middle East specialist René Backmann denounces the lack of reaction to the verdicts from France, which the very same day loaded three armed vessels, the first in a deal for 39, onto a freighter bound for Saudi Arabia.

Interview: UN investigator details evidence in Khashoggi murder, calls for probe into Saudi ruler

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A scene at a homage to Jamal Khashoggi held outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, October 25th 2018. © Reuters A scene at a homage to Jamal Khashoggi held outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, October 25th 2018. © Reuters

In a 100-page report published last week on her investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnès Callamard, concluded that “Mr Khashoggi has been the victim of a deliberate, premeditated execution, an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible under international human rights law”, and recommended that Saudi Arabia’s ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, should be investigated for his responsibility in the crime. In this interview with Mediapart, she details her investigation and its findings, and and calls on states to take a "serious" stand on press freedom.

How French foreign minister Le Drian lied over Khashoggi affair

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Yves Le Drian and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in April 2018. © Reuters Yves Le Drian and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in April 2018. © Reuters

On November 12th, 2018, Jean-Yves Le Drian insisted on French television that he was not aware of evidence supplied by Turkey regarding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi killers. Yet no fewer than seven French diplomats and intelligence agents have contradicted this claim by France's foreign minister. Thomas Cantaloube, Lucie Delaporte, René Backmann, Nicolas Cheviron, Matthieu Suc and Rachida El Azzouzi investigate.

Macron evades questions on halting Saudi arms sales

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French president was asked if France would stop weapons sales to Riyadh after it admitted journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in its consulate.

Macron waiting for 'clarity' before any response over Kashoggi case

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French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on Friday during a visit to Armenia, said he was still waiting for more facts about the fate of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared after entering Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul earlier this month, before deciding on France's response.