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| Saudi Arabia said journalist Jamal Khashoggi died when talks at its Istanbul consulate deteriorated into a "brawl and a fistfight" |
Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's "authoritarian rule" shortly before his death, in an interview published following confirmation he died at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.
Speaking
off the record to a Newsweek journalist working on a story about the Saudi
leadership, he insisted he did not view himself as "an opposition" --
he just wanted "a better Saudi Arabia".
"I'm
not calling for the overthrow of the regime, because I know it's not possible
and is too risky, and there is no one to overthrow the regime," Khashoggi
said.
"I'm
just calling for reform of the regime."
He
described Prince Mohammed as "an old-fashioned tribal leader" out of
touch with Saudi's poor.
"Sometimes
I feel that ... he wants to enjoy the fruits of First World modernity and
Silicon Valley and cinemas and everything, but at the same time he wants also
to rule like how his grandfather ruled Saudi Arabia," Khashoggi told
Newsweek.
"He
still doesn't see the people. When he sees the people, that's when the actual
reform will start."
Khashoggi
also criticized Prince Mohammed's lack of "proper advisers".
"He is
moving toward a Saudi Arabia according to him, a Saudi Arabia according to
Mohammed bin Salman only," said Khashoggi, who was himself a contributor
to the Washington Post newspaper.
Khashoggi
described two of the prince's aides -- sports chief Turki al-Sheikh and the
since-dismissed media adviser Saud al-Qahtani -- as "very thuggish".
"People
fear them. You challenge them, you might end up in prison, and that has
happened," he said.
Khashoggi
was last seen on October 2 entering his country's consulate in Istanbul.
His
disappearance had been shrouded in mystery, with Turkish officials accusing
Saudi Arabia of carrying out a state-sponsored killing and dismembering the
body.
Saudi
Arabia finally admitted early Saturday that Khashoggi had died inside the
consulate in what it described as a "brawl".
The
admission -- after persistent claims by the Saudi authorities that Khashoggi
had left the consulate alive -- came following the threat of US sanctions.
The Saudi
authorities have not yet said where his body is.
In the
Newsweek interview, Khashoggi, whose disappearance tipped Saudi Arabia into one
of its worst international crises, said pushback from the international
community was vital to keeping the Saudi regime in check.
"That
is our only hope," he said.
Related Article:
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is facing a backlash over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi from business and media previously supportive of his reform drive, with partnerships at risk and big names boycotting a major conferencehttps://t.co/wR8a5nIeEK— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 12, 2018
Saudi Arabia admits #JamalKhashoggi was killed inside its Istanbul consulate, saying he died during a "brawl"https://t.co/vOo8csYVEX pic.twitter.com/Qx6bCOiQN0— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 20, 2018
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