Saudi Arabia two years on since Khashoggi murder, Tunisia battles with homophobia

In this episode of The New Arab Voice, we will cover the issue of accountability for Saudi Arabia two years on from the murder of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the rallying of the gay community against an influencer armed with an Instagram account. 

October 2 marked two years since the gruesome murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A royal insider turned dissident, Khashoggi was lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to handle marriage paperwork before he was killed within minutes and his body was dismembered. 

The CIA and Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, found “credible evidence” tying the crown prince and other senior Saudi officials to the killing. 

Since the outrage over the journalist's killing, Saudi Arabia's human rights record has only worsened. The kingdom has imprisoned and tortured multiple women's rights activists, journalists and dissidents. Exiled Saudi opposition figures have also been targeted. However, Riyadh is still welcomed on the world stage and set to host the upcoming G20 summit in November.

To commemorate the two-year anniversary of his death, Khashoggi's friends, colleagues and supporters officially launched Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). The US-based activist group, which is dedicated to promoting human rights and democracy in the Arab world, was a project Khashoggi initiated before his untimely death.

Tune in to hear from Ines Osman, Director at MENA Rights Group, and Research Director for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at DAWN, Abdullah Alaoudh.

Then we move onto Tunisia, where the gay community is under threat once more. Beauty influencer, Lady Samara, changed the tone of her Instagram live-streams when she started denouncing homosexuality. This sparked international outrage, which concluded in a wave of backlash from activists and rights groups fighting against hate speech online.

Tune in to hear from Rasha Younes, LGBT Rights Researcher at Human Rights Watch, and Rania, one of the members of Mawjoudine - one of Tunisia's only LGBT organisations.

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(Produced by Gaia Caramazza and Danya Hajjaji. Music by Omar al-Fil @elepheel. To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TheNewArabVoice or email gaia.caramazza@alaraby.co.uk)

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