Jamal Khashoggi’s US lawyer sentenced to three years following detention in UAE
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Your support makes all the difference.President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East came to an end with yet more controversy after it emerged that an American lawyer who previously represented murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been detained in the UAE.
US citizen Asim Ghafoor was detained at Dubai airport on Thursday while travelling to Istanbul for a family wedding and was held on charges related to an in absentia conviction for money laundering. Mr Ghafoor reportedly had no prior knowledge of any conviction.
UAE state media said on Saturday that the attorney had been sentenced to three years in prison.
On Saturday, Mr Biden met with UAE President Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and invited him to visit the US before the year is out.
He was one of multiple Middle Eastern leaders Mr Biden met in Saudi Arabia on Saturday before leaving aboard Air Force One.
New details also emerged about Friday’s controversial meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the man US intelligence found responsible for ordering the Khashoggi’s murder.
When Mr Biden confronted MBS about the killing – after a friendly fist-bump – he denied the accusation and fired back about the US’s own controversies.
Jamal Khashoggi’s American lawyer sentenced to three years in UAE prison following detention at airport
MBS fired back at Biden with US controversies after confrontation over Khashoggi’s murder, says report
Biden poses for ‘family photo’ with Saudi Crown Prince MBS after clash over Khashoggi murderJoe Biden fist-bumps Saudi crown prince after vowing to make him ‘a pariah’ in 2019
Ilhan Omar on Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia: ‘It sends the wrong message to everyone who cares about human rights’
Khashoggi fiancé posts what she believes he would tweet today
Hatice Cengiz, the fiancé of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has tweeted out what she believes he would have posted having seen President Joe Biden meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Hey POTUS, Is this the accountability you promised for my murder? The blood of MBS’s next victim is on your hands.”
Why Biden change his mind about making Saudi Arabia a ‘pariah nation’?
Joe Biden could not have been any clearer.
The administration of Donald Trump, it was put to him by a questioner, had failed to punish Saudi Arabia for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. If anything, it had cemented its ties, with Trump bowing before the Saudi king to receive a heavy and pendulous gold necklace, the Collar of Abdulaziz al Saud no less.
If he was president, what would Biden do? Would he punish the Saudi leaders?
“Yes. And I said at the time, Khashoggi was in fact murdered and dismembered, and I believe on the order of the crown prince [Mohammed bin Salman],” he said with no small steel to his voice.
“I would make it very clear, we were not going to sell more weapons to them. We are going to make them pay the price, and make them in fact, the pariah that they are.”
So what changed?
Andrew Buncombe reports for The Independent.
Why did Joe Biden change his mind about making Saudi Arabia as ‘pariah nation’
There was talk of complete change in US-Saudi relations, so what happened asks Andrew Buncombe
Biden fist bumps Saudi crown prince
The much-anticipated meeting between Joe Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began shortly after the US president touched down in Jeddah on the next leg of his Middle East tour.
On arrival at the Al Salam Royal Palace on Friday, Mr Biden emerged from the “the Beast” and fist-bumped the crown prince who stood ready to greet him.
Joe Biden fist bumps Saudi crown prince on arrival in Jeddah
The greeting sparked controversy as the president begins the closed-door bilateral meeting
Biden departs palace after almost three hours
President Joe Biden has departed the Al Salam Royal Palace after two hours and fifty minutes of talks with Saudi leaders.
His next event will be tomorrow when he attends the Gulf Cooperation Council +3 summit, comprising of the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, plus Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt.
Washington Post publisher calls fist bump ‘shameful'
Fred Ryan, Publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, has joined the chorus of condemnation President Joe Biden is facing for his fist bump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In a statement he said:
The fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake--it was shameful. It projected a level of intimacy and comfort that delivers to MBS the unwarranted redemption he has been desperately seeking.
President Biden offers remarks on Saudi Arabia trip
President Biden is now giving a speech about his Saudi Arabia trip.
Watch his remarks live here, via the White House.
Top Democrat slams Biden fist bump
Democratic California Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who has been outspoken regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, slammed the president’s fist bump with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
In rare criticism of the Joe Biden from a top House Democrat, Mr Schiff tweeted: “If we ever needed a visual reminder of the continuing grip oil-rich autocrats have on US foreign policy in the Middle East, we got it today.”
He added: “One fist bump is worth a thousand words.”
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