Advertisement

'Time' honours Khashoggi and other targeted journalists

Tuesday December 11 2018
jml

Mr Jamal Khashoggi during a press conference in the Bahraini capital Manama on December 15, 2014. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in October at his country's Istanbul consulate, was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" Tuesday, an honour he shared with other targeted journalists recognized as "guardians" of the truth.

Among those named with Mr Khashoggi were Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo -- currently imprisoned in Myanmar -- and the workforce of the Capital Gazette in the US city of Annapolis, including five staff members killed in a June shooting.

"As we looked at the choices it became clear that the manipulation and abuse of truth is really the common thread in so many of this year's major stories, from Russia to Riyadh to Silicon Valley," Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said.

Taken great risks

"So we chose to highlight four individuals and one group who have taken great risks in pursuit of greater truth, starting with Jamal Khashoggi."

Time, which has awarded the "Person of the Year" title annually since 1927, published four different magazine covers for this week's edition, each one spotlighting different honorees.

Advertisement

It is the first time someone has been chosen posthumously for the prestigious cover.

Explaining the decision to honour dissident journalist Khashoggi, who was a US resident and Washington Post columnist, Felsenthal said it was "very rare that a person's influence grows so immensely in death."

Impoverished Yemen

"His murder has prompted a global reassessment of the Saudi crown prince and a really long overdue look at the devastating war in Yemen," he added.

The CIA has concluded with "medium-to-high confidence" that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman probably ordered Mr Khashoggi's October 2 assassination, according to US media reports.

Prince Mohammed is also accused of contributing to the world's worst humanitarian crisis in impoverished Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting a war against Huthi rebels.

Advertisement