The Saudi king and crown prince greet Khashoggi's son, Salah, in Riyadh on Tuesday (Reuters/SPA)
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabias King Salman and his son, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, received the son and another relative of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Photos of the meeting released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency showed Khashoggis son, Salah, and one of his relatives, Sahl Ahmed Khashoggi, shaking hands with the king and the crown prince.
From activists to journalists, observers were quick to respond on social media, scrutinising the images and analysing the body language of Khashoggis son and the Saudi royals.
Salah, Jamal Khashoggis son, who is banned from travel. They brought him to the royal court to accept condolences. The look on his face. This photo makes me want to scream and throw up. #JamalKhashoggi pic.twitter.com/0M3IYVT5FB
— Manal al-Sharif (@manal_alsharif) October 23, 2018
Unbelievably cruel. Mere “exploitative” doesnt quite capture the evil of forcing the son of the man you had executed to face cameras and pretend “were good.” Monster MBS. #JamalKhashoggi https://t.co/sFnS0o5qV1
— Clayton Swisher (@claytonswisher) October 23, 2018
Aside from the obvious odiousness, the troubling thing about this sinister photo-op of MBS and #Khashoggi's son Salah is the irretrievable idiocy and cluelessness it highlights. They genuinely think this is a PR masterstroke. pic.twitter.com/trvV7TkS7Y
— Hicham Yezza (@HichamYezza) October 23, 2018
Khashoggi was reported missing after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul 2 October but failed to return. Saudi officials insisted for weeks that he had left the building alive, but said on Saturday that he had been killed after a fight broke out inside the building.
People around the world have been struck by the look on Salah's face as he shakes hands with MBS, as well as the presence of a bodyguard, who stands poised with a hand on his gun.
Al Jazeera journalist Jamal Elshayyal and others highlighted the creased appearance of Salahs clothing, suspecting he may have been forcibly dragged to the palace.
#Khashoggis son Salah shaking hands with the Saudi ruler accused of wanting his father silenced. Observe the look on his face, the weakly offered hand. This is not a friendly encounter. Salah was banned from leaving Saudi because of his fathers writing. pic.twitter.com/J2Ooa8VHMo
— Bill Neely (@BillNeelyNBC) October 23, 2018
What your face looks like when you put your hand in the hand of your father's assassin.
Salah son of #JamalKhashoggi in the presence of the grizzly #MBS pic.twitter.com/ULavnqAwtg
— Marwa Osman (@Marwa__Osman) October 23, 2018
“You were never meant to find out it was us. Its your patriotic duty to pretend this never happened. Its your fault you found out, not our fault that we had him killed”
NB. Check out the guard with the itchy trigger fingers in the gun!!!#JamalKjashoggi pic.twitter.com/ocGpyNJrmq
— Jamal Elshayyal جمال (@JamalsNews) October 23, 2018
Speaking to Middle East Eye, Saudi human rights activist and close friend of the late Khashoggi, Yahya Assiri, said the visit was “a serious assault on the family” of the murdered journalist, particularly as authorities continue to bar them from travelling.
The meeting comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans much anticipated “naked truth” speech on Tuesday, in which he shared little new information but dismissed much of the Saudi explanation of the murder.
“All evidence gathered shows that Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a savage murder. To cover up such a savagery would hurt the human conscience,” he said, speaking in parliament.
Travel ban
According to Assiri, members of Khashoggis family have been barred from travelling since the journalist left Saudi Arabia last year. This ban was meant to put pressure on Kashoggi to return to the kingdom.
Since Khashoggis death, social media users, including his editor at the Washington Post, have called on the kingdom to lift the ban in order for the family to mourn his death together.
One of the most important things the Trump Admin must do is pressure the Saudi regime to lift the travel ban on Jamal Khashoggis son. Salah Jamal Khashoggi.
MBS tactic to take his critics family members as hostages (even MBS own family) continues unabated: #JusticeforJamal pic.twitter.com/qLS60VR8yN— Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) October 22, 2018
There needs to be pressure on the Saudis to let Salah (a dual U.S. citizen) leave and be reunited with his family during this tough time.
He was placed on a travel ban due to his father's writing. #Khashoggi. https://t.co/X5QdNbOjkz
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) October 23, 2018
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