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Washington Post prints empty column for Saudi journalist missing in Turkey

The Post’s editorial board called on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ensure writer Jamal Khashoggi ‘is free and able to continue his work’.

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The Washington Post has printed a blank column in its newspaper in solidarity with a Saudi contributor who went missing while on a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Post’s editorial board called on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ensure writer Jamal Khashoggi “is free and able to continue his work”, which included writing columns critical of the royal and the kingdom’s policies.

“His criticism, voiced over the past year, most surely rankles Mohammed bin Salman, who was elevated to crown prince last year and has carried out a wide-ranging campaign to silence dissent while trying to modernise the kingdom,” the Post editorial read.

“Among those in his prisons for political speech are clerics, bloggers, journalists and activists. He imprisoned women who agitated for the right to drive, a right that was granted even as they were punished.”

The Post’s empty column in Friday’s edition bore Mr Khashoggi’s byline and the headline: “A missing voice.”

Mr Khashoggi, a 59-year-old veteran journalist who has lived in self-imposed exile in the US since Prince Mohammed’s rise to power, disappeared on Tuesday while on a visit to the consulate to get paperwork done to be married to his Turkish fiancee.

The Saudi consulate insists Mr Khashoggi left its building, contradicting Turkish officials who say they believe he is still there.

Turkey summoned the Saudi ambassador on Thursday over the writer’s disappearance.

Supporters held a small rally on Friday outside the consulate.

Mr Khashoggi’s disappearance threatens to further harm relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which are on opposite sides of an ongoing four-nation boycott of Qatar and other regional crises.

Press freedom groups have also called on Prince Mohammed to ensure Mr Khashoggi’s safety.

The Post joined them on Friday by directly appealing to the prince, the son of Saudi King Salman.

“The crown prince has been all over the United States preaching his vision of a more modern Saudi society, breaking out of the stale old religious codes and practices, opening up to foreign entertainment and investment,” the Post editorial board wrote.

“If he is truly committed to this, he will welcome constructive criticism from patriots such as Mr Khashoggi.”

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