'Did all right steps': Saudi crown prince terms Khashoggi killing a ‘huge mistake’; widow of slain journalist seeks apology

Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, the widow of assassinated Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, on Tuesday asked crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to personally apologise to her after he said the killing was a mistake.

“There is no justification to murder my husband. Jamal was a good, transparent and brave man, even if many people did not agree with his views or his push for press freedom. The crown prince has said he is sorry, so he should meet me, apologise, and compensate me for my husband’s murder,” she wrote on X.






During a press conference with Trump at the Oval Office, the crown prince called the killing “painful” and a “huge mistake.” He said it was distressing to hear of anyone losing their life “for no real purpose or in an illegal way,” adding that Saudi Arabia had taken the “right steps” in the investigation and improved its systems to ensure such an incident would not happen again.

Hanan Elatr Khashoggi earlier told CNN it was “very painful” for her to see prince Mohammed visit Washington and be welcomed like a head of state rather than a de facto ruler. She said she wished Jamal were alive to receive the crown prince himself and share his ideas and vision.

She also said she had written to Trump seeking his help in securing a financial settlement with prince Mohammed. Calling the killing “life-destroying,” she urged Washington to uphold its values of human rights and democracy while dealing with Riyadh, beyond agreements and weapons sales.

Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based journalist and critic of Saudi Arabia’s government, was murdered on October 2, 2018, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His killing strained ties between the two countries after US intelligence assessed that prince Mohammed approved the operation, a claim Saudi authorities deny.