US: Candlelight vigil held to remember Saudi journalist

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 02: A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday in Washington, D.C. to mark the first anniversary of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder. The vigil outside the Saudi embassy was organized by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) organization along with Reporters Without Borders, Pen America and Amnesty International, among others. Speaking at the event, Courtney Radsch, the advocacy director for the CPJ, said the planned brutal execution happened because Khashoggi had been publicly critical of the Saudi regime. "Now it has been a year since his murder and no one has been brought to justice," said Radsch, who criticized U.S. President Donald Trump over his inaction in the wake of the murder. "Trump views Saudi Arabia and [Saudi Crown Prince] Mohammad bin Salman as two valuable business partners, and this inaction has sent a message to governments around the world that killing a journalist is acceptable. It is not," she said. "We stand here tonight to recognize the loss of a great journalist and remind the world we will not rest until there is justice for his murder.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, called Khashoggi's killing "a political hit by a tyrant." "People of the world will never forget the murder and who killed him," said Raskin. Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and columnist for The Washington Post newspaper, was killed and dismembered on Oct. 2, 2018 after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was making arrangements for his wedding. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessed that bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s murder. UN expert Agnes Callamard has described his death as a “premeditated execution” and called for bin Salman and other high-ranking Saudis to be investigated.(Footage by Yasin OZturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)