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- Emma jones
- BBC
Photo posted, Altitude Movies
Khashoggi was a prominent journalist and critic of the current Saudi government.
Oscar-crowned director Brian Vogel, who directed an investigative documentary investigating the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, says he believes the Saudi crown prince will not face any official investigation into the murder.
Although the new report issued by the CIA indicates the involvement of Mohammed bin Salman in the death of the Saudi journalist who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Director Vogel’s film “The Defender” attempts to explore what happened to Khashoggi and who possibly ordered his murder. Khashoggi’s body has not been found and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia denies any involvement in the murder.
In November 2019, five people were tried and a Saudi court sentenced them to death for their role in the Khashoggi murder, and also sentenced three others to prison for their role in the same case, but the death sentences were later commuted. for twenty. year in prison.
Based on transcripts of recordings obtained from the Turkish government, Vogel’s film indicates that Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist who chose self-imposed exile in the United States, was suffocated and then dismembered inside the Saudi consulate building.
The film also investigates the use of spyware and hacking on the phones of Saudi activists living in exile. Among them is Canadian-based blogger (who has a video blog), Omar Abdulaziz, who was in contact with Khashoggi prior to his death.
“I don’t think the crown prince will face any order from Interpol to arrest him when he lands in his private plane (in any other country) and is taken to The Hague or deported to Istanbul or the United States,” says Vogel.
“This will not happen. This environment in which we find ourselves is in constant contradiction and conflict with human rights. Leaders like Mohammed bin Salman see that their money can buy them a way out of such events. There will be no responsibility,” he added. Unless there are joint and sustained efforts by the countries “in this regard.
Vogel says he welcomes the reassessment of relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia under the Biden administration, recalling the intimate relations between the two countries during the presidency of Donald Trump.
Photo posted, Reuters
King Salman named his son Muhammad crown prince in 2017
The American director emphasizes that “Biden will definitely not play by Donald Trump’s rules of the game. His signature to declassify the CIA report and publish his conclusions on the Khashoggi assassination represents a blow to US-Saudi relations.
Vogel believes that the release of human rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul after nearly three years of imprisonment “is clearly a sign of peace for the Biden administration.”
He says: “There seems to be support from both Democrats and Republicans for re-evaluating the relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of the war in Yemen. So the time is judgment so we know what will happen.”
Vogel’s investigative film “Icarus” won an Oscar in 2018 for its state-sponsored doping scandal. His new movie, “Dissident,” was critically celebrated at its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020, but Fogel kept wondering why international internet movie streaming services, including Amazon and Netflix, didn’t buy. the film for display on your platforms.
He explains the reasons for this by saying: “I think the film reveals that, sadly, there is cowardice accompanied by remorse among these large companies for not addressing issues that may affect those who own their shares, and the interests of the companies and their investors, to despite knowing that millions of people will enjoy watching the movie. ”
Vogel also criticizes the owner of the Amazon company and the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, who is also the owner of the Washington Post newspaper that used to employ Khashoggi.
Photo posted, Altitude Movies
Blogger Omar Abdel Aziz, who was in contact with Khashoggi, gave testimony in the film.
He says: “He chose not to have this film to distribute it globally through his platform, but after a few months he acquired the platform” Souq.com “, the most famous online store in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.
Amazon acquired Souq in 2017 and later reintroduced it under one brand: Amazon AA.
Fogel asks: “Is Amazon still doing business with Saudi Arabia? The answer is yes. And (Bezos) really defends the murder of one of his employees? He made some statements, but actions speak louder than words.”
The Vogel’s film contains video clips of a 2017 protest near the Saudi consulate in Istanbul that Bezos attended and delivered a speech.
“I am not mad at any of these companies, they are businesses, but what frustrates me is that such behavior ultimately allows crimes like the Khashoggi murder to occur, and when there is no defense of such implications (like the one featured in the film ), it becomes increasingly difficult, “says Vogel. For directors like me. However, I am optimistic that this climate will change. ”
Photo posted, Altitude Movies
Khashoggi’s fiancee accuses Saudi crown prince of ordering her death
The objective of the film, “The Deserter”, as its director puts it, is not to make an “archival documentary”, but rather to create an interesting and animated investigative work that delves into the crime of Khashoggi’s murder and its ramifications ” .
In his film, Khashoggi’s Fiancée, Vogel interviewed Turkish academic Hatice Cengiz, as well as blogger Omar Abdulaziz, who was Khashoggi’s financial backer for his activities.
The film hypothesizes that such an act may generate the image in which Jamal is perceived as an activist and deserter (from the regime) and not as an outspoken journalist.
“But I think even in the last weeks of Jamal’s life he didn’t see himself as a dissident. He clung to the notion that he was a journalist. And then what you see in the movie is that work that he was doing and about what he was writing that turned him into this image, “explains Vogel. Or at least the way we understand it. ”
Vogel concludes: “Jamal Khashoggi is someone who wanted to make his country a better place and he was silenced in the ugliest way.”
He adds: “In the film, you see that the choice he faced was: either remain silent in Saudi Arabia, or leave, risking his life, go into exile to tell the truth. This cost him his life.”
The film Renegade will be shown for the first time in Britain on thtoInternet at the Glasgow Film Festival on March 6 .
