Khashoggi’s children expected to receive millions in ‘blood money’

The children of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have received million-dollar houses in the kingdom and five-figure monthly payments as compensation for the killing of their father, according to the Washington Post.

Details of the payout were disclosed by officials and people close to the family who spoke to the Post on condition of anonymity. The final amount, which is expected to be higher, is part of the “blood money” negotiations that will end once the trial against Khashoggi’s killers is completed in the coming months.

It’s reported that King Salman authorised the delivery of homes and monthly payments of $10,000 or more to each of Khashoggi’s children as part of what one former official described as an acknowledgment that “a big injustice has been done” and an attempt “to make a wrong right.”

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The decision suggests that the king is personally handling the fall-out from the killing of Khashoggi which caused global outrage. The grisly murder is said to have caused a rift within the royal family with the Crown Prince being stripped of some of his duties.

Saudi officials rejected the claim that the payout was part of a deal to keep the siblings of Khashoggi quite. One official told the Post that the payments were consistent with the country’s long-standing practice of providing financial support to victims of violent crime or even natural disasters. “Such support is part of our custom and culture,” the official said. “It is not attached to anything else.”

As part of the preliminary settlement, the two sons and two daughters of the Washington Post journalist were given houses in Jeddah that are said to be worth as much as $4 million apiece. The eldest of the four siblings, Salah Khashoggi, is the only one who intends to continue living in Saudi Arabia, while the others – who reside in the United States – are expected to sell their new Saudi properties.

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After revealing that it had failed to get statements from any of the siblings regarding the payouts, the Post explained that the monthly schedule of payments and prospect of eventual multimillion-dollar settlements may give the Khashoggis a long-term financial incentive to remain quiet even as human rights organisations and critics of Saudi Arabia continue to demand accountability from the kingdom.

Saudi authorities have announced that they are investigating 21 people in connection with Khashoggi’s killing. However the Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, who is widely believed to have authorised the killing is not amongst the suspects.

Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for five operatives who travelled from Riyadh to Istanbul and were in the consulate when Khashoggi was killed. It was explained that if the men are convicted and sentenced to death, the Saudi system of justice could allow the Khashoggi family members to grant their father’s killers clemency as part of a “blood money” arrangement in which they might then be entitled to tens of millions of dollars.

It’s alleged that the issue of how far to go in protecting their father’s legacy and how much criticism should be directed at the kingdom has been a source of tension among the Khashoggi siblings. It was also pointed that there is no clarity as to whether Khashoggi’s children would be required to forgive or absolve the killers to collect the payments.