Saudi Arabia’s Shifting Narrative on Jamal Khashoggi’s Killing
What is strange about Riyadh’s version of events is how poorly it concealed what happened to the journalist.
First they said that he left unharmed. Then that he disappeared. Then that he died accidentally in a fistfight. Now Saudi authorities say that Jamal Khashoggi was killed—and that his death was premeditated.
The changing narratives, complemented by the steady drip of leaks about the killing from Turkish officials, have succeeded in keeping the Khashoggi story in the news weeks after the journalist’s disappearance. The sharply differing stories suggest two alternatives: that officials in Riyadh do not have control over what happens at their consulate in Istanbul, or that they
