According to the BBC, the wife of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, has been given political refuge in the US.
The US intelligence community believes Saudi Arabia was responsible for Khashoggi’s 2018 death. The widow of Khashoggi, Hanan Elatr, arrived in the US in August 2020 to seek for asylum because she was afraid for her safety after he was killed.
The BBC, citing records under examination, stated that on November 28, she was awarded indefinite asylum status.
Elatr told the BBC, “We did win,” her voice breaking with passion. “Yes, they took Jamal’s life and they destroyed my life, but we did win.”
Elatr, a former flight attendant, applied for political asylum in the US more than three years ago out of concern that returning to her more than 25-year home of Egypt or the United Arab Emirates would put her life in jeopardy.
Her lawyer, Randa Fahmy, revealed in an interview that she had abandoned her life and career to reside in Maryland for several months.
She eventually succeeded in getting a work permit in October 2021 to start her new life in the US; she already has an apartment and a job, but she still finds it difficult to make ends meet.
“The process has taken a while,” Fahmy remarked.
Elatr thanked President Joe Biden and his team for “opening the door for me” despite the length of time it took.
Elatr underwent a “pretty traumatic” interview process with US immigration services in March because of the questioning’s comprehensive and repetitious format.
The procedure may have stopped due to current negotiations between the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, although a response was anticipated within 60 to 90 days.
Congressman Don Beyer and Senator Tim Kaine were glad to assist Elatr and were relieved to hear the news when the two women approached them for assistance.
It was “the clearest case for political asylum imaginable,” according to Beyer.
Getting political asylum, according to Elatr and her lawyer, will be a launching pad “to take our case further to bring justice for Jamal”.
The group is attempting to secure the reparations that Saudi Arabia is owed for Khashoggi’s killing.
