US grants political asylum to widow of murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi – 5 years after he was killed in Saudi consulate in Turkey

Kamal Khashoggi's widow has been granted political asylum in the US, five years after the Washington Post journalist was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

Hanan Elatr told The Washington Post that she “couldn't really believe it” when she read the letter informing her of the official decision, adding “that there is one victim who is still alive.”

Khashoggi, a columnist and critic of the Saudi crown, was killed on the grounds of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 by a Saudi assassination squad sent by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, US intelligence said.

As she explained in her asylum application, Elatr was forced into hiding after Khashoggi was killed, causing her to leave the United Arab Emirates, where she had lived for 26 years, but where her life is now said to be in danger.

Elatr is also believed to be in danger in her native Egypt, an ally of the Saudis. She claims that Egyptian authorities unfairly detained and mistreated her and her family because of her connection to Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was killed on the grounds of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 by a Saudi assassination squad sent by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The former Emirates airline flight attendant and Khashoggi married in the US in July 1018, months before his death

Elatr also claims that four months before Kashoggi's murder, she was held in the UAE for 10 days and questioned about her relationship with the columnist. She said officials put spyware on her phones, which the UAE has denied.

The former Emirates airline flight attendant and Khashoggi married in the US in July 1018, months before his death, and have remained outspoken about demanding justice.

'[Biden] should ask what happened to his body? Where is his body? We still don't have an answer,” she told the Associated Press last year. “And people need to find out the truth in this case. And we can't forget it.'

“We can't forget what happened to Jamal.”

Khashoggi's killing initially appeared to threaten U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and MBS, but both the Trump and Biden administrations ultimately put the issue aside rather than risk the crucial relationship with the Arab power.

As a candidate, Joe Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the gruesome murder. But as president, he clashed with the kingdom's de facto ruler during a visit to improve relations.

Weeks after the Biden-MBS meeting, the Foreign Ministry announced that the crown prince was entitled to “sovereign immunity” due to his role as prime minister.

District Court Judge John Bates said that although the allegations against MBS were “credible”, he had no choice but to dismiss the case.

As a candidate, Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the killing. But as president he clashed with the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman

Khashoggi, a journalist who has been critical of the Saudi government, walked into the consulate on October 2, 2018 to collect documents that would allow him to marry another woman, Turkish academic Hatice Cengi. He never ran away.

Neither Cengi nor Elatr knew either of them were involved with Khashoggi at the time of his death.

A released audio tape, believed to be from Khashoggi's Apple Watch, captured his dying cries as he was allegedly dragged from the Saudi consul general's office to a table in an adjacent study, injected with an “unknown drug” and surgically dismembered was chopped.

A team of fifteen Saudi agents had flown to Turkey to meet Khashoggi at the consulate. They included a forensic doctor, intelligence and security officials and individuals working for the crown prince's office.

Turkish officials claim Khashoggi was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw.