Khashoggi Plan for Rights Group Realized

 

"I can speak when so many cannot."

Jamal Khashoggi wrote those words in The Washington Post in September 2017. It was the first opinion piece he wrote for the newspaper. In it, Khashoggi described the situation in his home country, Saudi Arabia. He said there was no freedom of speech there. He said it was "unbearable¹" for those with bravery to speak their minds.

Now, two years after his death at the Saudi Consulate² in Istanbul, Turkey, friends of Khashoggi have made his dream a reality. That dream was a rights organization that holds Middle East governments responsible for their actions. He also wanted the group to give activists⁴ and exiles a platform to speak openly about abuses.

Khashoggi developed the idea for Democracy for the Arab World Now, or DAWN, in June 2018, a few months before his death. At a press conference this week, the group's members talked about the need for human rights protections in the Middle East and North Africa. They also put together plans to identify abuses in the area.

DAWN will first examine three allies of the United States: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. It will document how governments oppress critics and human rights activists, says Sarah Leah Whitson. She is executive director of the rights group.

All three countries have poor records on supporting independent journalism⁵. That information comes from Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, a media watch group. Under RSF's rating system for press freedom, 1 is the freest and 180 is the least free. The group gave Saudi Arabia a rating of 170. Egypt got 166, with United Arab Emirates receiving 131.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's biggest jailers of journalists, RSF noted⁶ last week. RSF has called on the Group of 20 countries to hold Saudi Arabia responsible for its rights abuses. Leaders of G-20 countries are to meet in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, in November.

Platform for free speech

Sarah Leah Whitson met Khashoggi while she was working as Middle East director for the organization Human Rights Watch. She remembers him as "a very gentle and soft-spoken man but very firm in his beliefs."

In December 2016, Khashoggi talked to Whitson about Mohammed bin⁷ Salman. He was one of Saudi Arabia's leaders at the time and had banned Khashoggi from writing publicly. Seven months later, Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia, leaving his grandchildren behind.

Whitson told VOA that he felt so much pain for having to leave his family. And he would show her pictures of his grandchildren on his phone. "This is a real human being, not just a political mind, but someone who had to make personal sacrifices" for his values, she said.

From exile, Khashoggi continued to criticize Saudi Arabia for harassing⁸ and jailing people who questioned the government's policies.

The United States Central Intelligence Agency investigated his death, as did a United Nations expert on illegal killings¹⁰. They found that high-level Saudi officials, including Mohammed bin Salman, were involved.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not answer VOA's requests for comment on Khashoggi's killing¹¹ or the country's human rights record.

Bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, has denied ordering Khashoggi's killing. But he has said to U.S. media that he claims "full responsibility" as the nation's unofficial leader. Saudi Arabia later put 11 unnamed people on trial for the killing. Five people were sentenced to death and three to prison.

Governments in the Middle East and North Africa continue to restrain critics. In the years since Khashoggi's death, the fight against free speech in Saudi Arabia has continued, Whitson said. And talking to foreign media and criticizing the Saudi government are still offenses¹² that lead to jail time.

"What [bin Salman's] message is to the Saudi people is that there is no desire to hear their voices," she said.

But political exiles will be given a voice through DAWN's website, called "Democracy in Exile." It publishes stories and commentary on human rights abuses.

Egyptian journalist Abdelrahman Youssef writes for the website. He wrote about the Arab Spring protests in 2011 and the military ouster of Egypt's government in 2013. The next year, he left Egypt for the United States.

Egypt has jailed large numbers of journalists, often on charges of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood¹³. That is the party of ousted¹⁴ leader Mohamed Morsi, which the current government has called a terrorist organization. Over 500 websites, including news agencies, have been blocked. And individuals risk arrest for social media posts, RSF reports.

The Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C. did not answer VOA's request for comment.

Demand for action

Fighting rights abuses by governments is central to DAWN's mission, Whitson said. And it is dangerous for countries such as the United States to legitimize governments that punish their critics.

President Donald Trump¹⁵ and his administration expressed support for the Saudi crown prince when other countries criticized him after the killing of Khashoggi.

Egyptian journalist Youssef said that his work on Democracy in Exile will include writing on leaders of democracies who support dictatorships.

Words in This Story

unbearable – adj. too bad, harsh, or extreme to be accepted or endured

consulate – n. the building where a consul³ lives and works

platform – n. something that allows someone to tell a large number of people about an idea

journalism – n. the activity or job of collecting, writing, and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio

harass⁹ – v. subject to aggressive pressure or intimidation¹⁶

mission – n. a task that you consider to be a very important duty

legitimize – v. to make legitimate

1 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

2 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

3 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

9 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

10 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

13 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

14 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

15 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

16 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。