In Saudi Arabia, five people were sentenced to death over a journalist’s murder in October last year. The list, however, did not include two top aides to the crown prince.
Jamal Khashoggi was a Washington Post contributor, critical of the Saudi government, who went to the Saudi consulate in Turkey to process his marriage documents. He never emerged from that place. Turkey officials alleged he had been strangled, his body cut into pieces.
"The public prosecution's investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated at the start of this mission," Agence France Presse Saudi reported deputy prosecutor Shalaan al-Shalaan speaking at a press conference. Rather, the crime occurred in the heat of the moment.
The decision has been criticized by human rights groups and by Turkey. Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said the decision was a "mockery." But an official of the US State Department welcomed the verdict as an important step in holding those responsible accountable.
Here at home less than a week ago, we heard the trial court’s verdict on the Ampatuan massacre, a crime so audacious it jolted the world’s attention and made us grieve the absence of human decency. Ten years after the crime, the principal accused—members of the Ampatuan family—were given life sentences. However, at least 80 of the suspects remained at large, and only 57 victims were acknowledged even as the teeth of a 58th individual, photojournalist Reynaldo Momay, were found at the massacre site.
More than the revelry, the Christmas season prompts us to reflect on all that is not right in this world and try to make our words and actions help address these imperfections. Outside of the Khassogi and Ampatuan cases, there are numerous more cases of injustice and we are not even aware of most of them. Here’s to pausing amid all that is wrong and wishing we would be imbued with the fortitude to at least be aware that they must change.