Hatice Cengiz is suing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a U.S. federal court over the death of her fiance, journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was a columnist for the Washington Post, which covered the federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., on October 20. The lawsuit, begun more than two years after Khashoggi's death on October 2, 2018, was covered by other news media, such as National Public Radio (NPR).

'Brutal and Brazen' Murder of Khashoggi

According to NPR, the lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the crown prince and more than 20 others for the "brutal and brazen" murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

NPR reported that the lawsuit referred to Cengiz as Khashoggi's widow because the two had been married according to traditional Islamic practices on September 16, 2018.

The Washington Post recalled that Khashoggi had been slain soon after entering the consulate in order to obtain papers necessary for his civil marriage to Cengiz. The report also noted that the Saudi government had claimed that Khashoggi's death had been the work of rogue Saudi agents acting in disobedience.

But the Washington Post also recalled that the CIA had concluded that the crown prince had ordered the journalist's death. NPR quoted Agnes Callamard, an investigator for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, saying that Khashoggi's death was "an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible."

Democracy and Human Rights

The paper said Khashoggi's columns had been "sharply critical of the crown prince." Speaking at a videoconference on October 20, Cengiz claimed her fiancee had been murdered because of his outspoken support of democracy and human rights, the Washington Post said.

NPR quoted Cengiz as saying she was "hopeful" that "truth and justice" would be obtained at the U.S.

District Court for the District of Columbia. The Washington Post reported that Cengiz was being joined in her lawsuit by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), a human rights organization set up by Khashoggi shortly before his murder. The website for the group is dawnmena.org.

Trump Protects Crown Prince

The Washington Post said President Donald Trump was one of the crown prince's "most steadfast defenders." According to the paper, a recent book by Bob Woodward quotes Trump as boasting that he had succeeded in persuading Congress to take no action against the crown prince.

Cengiz was suing under the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act, the Washington Post said. NPR quoted Cengiz and DAWN as saying justice could not be obtained at courts in Saudi Arabia or Turkey.
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