'Kingdom of Silence': Who are Maher Mutreb and Saud al-Qahtani? Duo involved in Jamal Khashoggi's assassination
Showtime's latest documentary, 'Kingdom of Silence' focuses on the life and death of Saudi Arabian journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018. The documentary also focuses on the diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States as it unfolds Khashoggi's life and the Middle East tensions from the time of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 to the present day.
Khashoggi was first reported missing after his visit to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. It was not revealed until later that Khashoggi had, in fact, been assassinated by a 15-member squad of Saudi assassins. Details of Khashoggi's horrifying assassination soon emerged – he was ambushed, suffocated, and dismembered. Khashoggi had been lured to the consulate on the pretext of providing him with papers for his upcoming nuptials.
One of the prominent names that came up during the investigation of Khashoggi's disappearance and death was Saud al-Qahtani, an influential aide to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman. His official post was General Supervisor of the Center for Studies and Media Affairs. It was reported that al-Qahtani oversaw the killing of Khashoggi among other interrogations and torture. After al-Qahtani's name was inextricably linked to the assassination, he was dismissed from his official position.
However, in 2019, Saudi Arabian prosecutors said that they found no evidence to link al-Qahtani to Khashoggi's brutal murder and was cleared of all charges. Instead, five other low-ranking officials were sentenced to death and another three given a combined 24-year prison sentence. This created mass outrage as reports found that American officials concluded that it was highly likely that Mohammed Bin Salman himself had ordered the assassination, with al-Qahtani assembling, at his instruction, the 15-man team of hitmen who flew to Istanbul.
One of the key members of the team assembled by al-Qahtani was Maher Mutreb, who had also been identified as a key aide of Mohammed Bin Salman and the two had often been seen traveling together. Mutreb was seen by surveillance footage entering the Saudi Arabian consulate on the day of Khashoggi's death before Khashoggi arrived, and was seen leaving hours after Khashoggi himself had entered the consulate. In the documentary, transcripts of audio within the consulate showed that Mutreb had referred to Khashoggi as the "sacrificial animal" when he inquired as to whether the latter had reached the consulate.
In December 2019, when al-Qahtani was cleared of all charges, Mutreb was one of the five officials who were sentenced to death. In September 2020, Khashoggi's family pardoned the five officials from execution and they will instead serve out lengthy jail terms. Mutreb was also named in a trial in Turkey over Khashoggi's death that began earlier this year. Turkey carried out its own investigation into the murder after being unhappy with Saudi explanations.
'Kingdom of Silence' aired on Showtime on October 2.