Official Flip-Flop on Khashoggi Shocks Saudis
- Government abruptly reverses days of denials it was involved
- Locals react with mix of anger, disappointment, disbelief
Consular security personnel await for the arrival of forensic investigators outside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 17.
Photographer: Kostas Tsironis/BloombergSaudi Arabia’s about-face admission that journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in Istanbul earlier this month sent shockwaves through a country where many had believed -- and defended -- initial official claims that the authorities had nothing to do with it.
“A very sad day for this nation, to see what the country had descended into,” said one Saudi man, who spoke on condition of anonymity to criticize a government that tolerates virtually no dissent. “No country is perfect, but used to be proud that the country had a certain morality that aligned with Arabian values. We lost that forever unfortunately.”