Remembering Jemal Kashoggi: the media, the show trials, the limits of international jurisprudence, and the uphill struggle for image repair

ABSTRACT

The assassination of Saudi critic and journalist Jemal Kashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in October 2018 was a global thriller of unprecedented journalistic, jurisprudential, and public relations physiognomies. Based on Benton’s image repair theory the paper examines the series of Saudi royal state/ media communications between the date of the reported disappearance of the victim, court dramas leading to the controversial sentencing of suspects and the publication of a UN special report holding Saudi Arabia accountable. Using rhetorical methods, the study finds that the Saudi image repair attempt was defensive and defective failing to satisfy international demands for truth and justice. The absence of a credible judicial process meeting international standards points to the limits of international jurisprudence. In view of the travesty of justice and the profile of the victim as a crusader for press freedom, it is likely that the road to reputational recovery for the kingdom will be a long battle as the flash backs of the horrors of the feral assassination are unlikely to go too soon.

KEYWORDS:

• Media
• image
• assassination
• provocation
• defeasibility
• accidents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Turkish reports point to a preplanned cremation conducted in the premises of the Saudi consul’s residence where a furnace had been constructed based on special specifications to endure temperatures of over 1000 degrees.