Khashoggi's dream comes to life two years after his killing

NEW YORK, Sept 29 (New York Times): In the months before he was killed by Saudi agents in 2018, Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi was pursuing a dream to found an organisation in Washington to promote democracy in the Arab world.

On Tuesday, two years after his death, Khashoggi's friends and colleagues will launch that organisation, Democracy for the Arab World Now, or DAWN.

DAWN is a Washington-based human rights watchdog that plans to focus on violations by the United States' closest Arab allies and publish articles by political exiles from across the Middle East to carry on Khashoggi's legacy.

Since Khashoggi's death and dismemberment by Saudi agents inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct 2, 2018, critics have embraced his case as the grimmest manifestation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's no-holds-barred approach to silencing dissidents within Saudi Arabia and abroad.

Salman, the Saudi kingdom's de facto ruler, has said that he did not know beforehand about the plot against Khashoggi, although an assessment by the CIA said it was likely that he had ordered the killing.

Despite the kingdom's efforts to move on after a Saudi court sentenced eight men to prison terms for the crime this month, Khashoggi's story continues to resonate.

Two high-profile documentaries about his killing, "Kingdom of Silence" and "The Dissident," are to be released on the second anniversary of his death on Friday, and a group of Saudi dissidents announced the formation last week of an exile opposition group, the National Assembly Party. Some of its members were associates of Khashoggi.

On Monday, Turkey prepared a new indictment against six Saudi citizens, including two consular workers, in connection with his killing. They are expected to be added to the Turkish trial in absentia of 20 other suspects that began in July.

DAWN's organisers say they hope the group will continue Khashoggi's vision.

"The fundamental premise that democracy and human rights are the only solution for stability, security and dignity in the Middle East is 100% Jamal's point of view," said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group's executive director. "That is what he wanted this organisation to be about."