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A petition to change the street name where the Saudi Embassy in Washington is located to 'Jamal Khashoggi Way' already has a heap of signatures

John Walsh,John Walsh   

A petition to change the street name where the Saudi Embassy in Washington is located to 'Jamal Khashoggi Way' already has a heap of signatures

Jamal Khashoggi

Reuters

Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist is missing, presumed murdered.

  • A petition to rename the street in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC, to "Jamal Khashoggi Way" is quickly drawing support.
  • Jamal Khashoggi is the Saudi columnist who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 2.
  • The authors of the petition say they want to send a message that harming a member of the press will not be tolerated.
  • The Saudi government has changed its narrative about what happened to Khashoggi several times, but finally admitted on October 25 that his killing was premeditated.

An online petition is calling for the street in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC, to be renamed "Jamal Khashoggi Way," in honor of the murdered dissident, according to The Washington Post.

Khashoggi was the Saudi Arabian reporter who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, last month.

Khashoggi had been an outspoken opponent of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has repeatedly denied playing a part in Khashoggi's killing despite having ties to the Saudi hit squad that allegedly strangled, then dismembered the writer.

The petition has collected over 1,500 signatures as of Wednesday evening and was created by DC residents who are hoping mayor Muriel Bowser will agree, so that Saudi officials won't easily forget that harming journalists is not tolerated in DC, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

Regulations in the district require that a person be deceased for at least two years before they can receive such an honor, but the petition is asking Bowser to make an exception.

Read more: Here's everything we know about the troubling disappearance and death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Council on American-Islamic Relations director Hihad Awad applauded the idea, telling the Daily News that the thought of Saudi Embassy workers having to put "Jamal Khashoggi Way" on their business cards is powerful.

"Imagine if their mail had to be addressed to Khashoggi Way?" Awad told the publication.

The Saudi government has changed its story about Khashoggi's death several times, but appeared to admit on October 25 that his killing was premeditated.

Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2 after going there to collect marriage documents. He never returned.

It took the Saudi government more than two weeks to acknowledge that he had indeed died there.

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