The wife of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, has been granted political asylum in the United States.
Jamal Khashoggi was killed in October 2018 and US intelligence says they believe Saudi Arabia was behind the murder.
Jamal Khashoggi’s wife, Hanan Elatar, feared for her safety and came to the United States to apply for asylum in August 2020.
Hanan Elatar, a former Emirates flight attendant, lived quietly in Maryland for months after coming to the United States because she feared her life would be in danger if anyone found out about her whereabouts. may be imposed, and in the context of all this, he had to leave his job.
However, after all this, she finally managed to get a work permit to start her new life in America in October 2021. Hanan Elatar now has a job and an apartment, but despite all this, he continues to struggle to make ends meet.
But Hanan Elatar’s lawyer Randa Fahmi says, “This is a long struggle that is ongoing.”
Hanan Elatar thanked President Joe Biden and his administration and said, “They opened the doors of their country to me.” And feeling relaxed.’
Hanan Elatar was interviewed at length by US Immigration Services in March, which Elatar’s lawyer described as “painful”.
He expected a response in 60 to 90 days, but Fahmi believes the application process was stalled by ongoing negotiations between the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Both women (Elatar and her attorney, Fahmi) have enlisted the support of various members of Congress, but singled out Congressman Don Baer and Senator Tim Kaine as “champions on Capitol Hill.”
Both lawmakers told the media they were happy to support Jamal’s wife and were relieved to hear the news.
“After all that he and his family have endured, it’s nice to see that he’s been given this honor and the security measures that go along with it,” Don Beer said in a statement.
He added, “I will continue to support Jamal Khashoggi’s wife because she wants to be held accountable for her husband’s murder. This is a terrible injustice that I will never forget.”
Elatar and his lawyer said that seeking asylum would “serve as a springboard to take our case further to bring Jamal to justice.”
They are demanding compensation from Saudi Arabia for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and are continuing to try to obtain the journalist’s electronic equipment from the Turkish government.
They plan to take legal action against the Israeli spyware firm NSO Group, which has been widely accused of having its Pegasus software sold and used by authoritarian regimes around the world.