Khashoggi widow urges UK architects to push Saudis over his murder

In an interview with Architects’ Journal, Hanan Khashoggi urged prominent architects, including Norman Foster, to speak out and bring attention to her husband’s murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 – which, she said, remains unsolved.

“I tell the architects from the UK: I’m proud that you are helping Saudi Arabia to develop, and this is what Jamal wanted, but please speak to them [Saudi Arabia’s ruling royal family] and remind them there is unfinished business here, which is Jamal,” she called on architects.

Hanan Khashoggi’s plea comes as several British architectural firms, including Foster + Partners, work on high-profile projects in Saudi Arabia, such as the controversial Neom development. In 2018, Norman Foster temporarily stepped down from his advisory role on Neom following the murder.

Directly addressing Foster, Hanan Khashoggi remarked: “Mr Foster, this case has not been closed. There is one victim still alive, which is me. She didn’t receive any compensation or any official apology, they destroyed her family life. This is me.”

She added that she “appreciated [Foster’s] stance on Neom in 2018” as it “shows he had the ability to tell the crown prince and the Saudi royal family that there is unfinished business here, and they need to finish it.”

Foster’s studio continues to be involved in various projects in Saudi Arabia, including the design of the world’s tallest building and a new airport. For her part, Hanan Khashoggi hopes UK architects will continue working in the country but remain firm in raising the issue of her husband’s murder.

“I hope UK architects carry and keep their democratic values and that they don’t stop working in Saudi Arabia, because this is what Jamal wanted; he wanted better for his country, for his people,” she said. “But I want architects to remind the crown prince and the Saudi royal family that there is unfinished business here regarding Jamal because a horrible crime happened to an honest journalist.”

Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist for ‘The Washington Post’, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. While US intelligence agencies concluded that the murder was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi authorities have insisted the killing was the result of a “rogue operation” by a team of agents.