Khashoggi widow asks US intelligence chief to help recover murdered journalist’s ‘bugged’ cellphone

The widow of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi has called on America’s top US intelligence official to help retrieve his cellphone to see if it was infected with spyware – a bid to uncover more details about his killing.

Four years after Khashoggi was killed in an operation carried out by Saudi agents inside a consulate in Turkey, Hanan Hanan El-Atr Khashoggi, has written to Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, asking for her help in recovering his devices – two mobile telephones, one laptop and one tablet.

She says these are in the possession of the Turkish authorities and that they ought to be returned to her as his widow. Before his death, Khashoggi, 59, had apparently become engaged to a Turkish student, Hatice Cengiz, and he was killed after going to the consulate in Istanbul to get a visa to allow him to travel to Saudi Arabia.

“Thank you for declassifying the critical report which led to a very painful understanding of what happened to my husband,” Ms Elatr Khashoggi writes in the letter, seen by The Independent.

“While I am immensely grateful for all that you and President Biden have done thus far, I believe there is more that can be done to hold all parties accountable for my husband’s murder.”

She says she hopes the US can help her recover the devices.

“The government of Turkey is still in possession of his devices and must turn them over to me, Jamal’s only wife upon his death. I have the right to receive all of his possessions, particularly now as I am embarking on legal action in the United States against all parties responsible for my husband’s murder,” she adds.

“I believe those devices will reveal previously undisclosed details about my husband’s murder that are critical to knowing the full truth.”

In the aftermath of Khashoggi’s murder, a report by US intelligence found that Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, known as MBS, had ordered the operation to kill the journalist, who had become a critic of the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has always denied the claim, saying that the killing was undertaken by rogue agents. Action against those individuals has been transferred to Saudi Arabia from Turkey.

It also emerged that after the murder, the cell phones of both Ms El-Atr Khashoggi and Ms Cengiz had been infected with spyware produced by the Israeli-based company NSO, according to the letter.

“Last year, I was informed by Amnesty International, Citizen Lab, and the Washington Post that my devices had evidence of NSO’s spyware Pegasus dating back to 2017, when Jamal and I were in constant contact,” she writes.

“Further examination of my devices not only showed tracking by NSO’s spyware, but also evidence that another spyware, Cellebrite, was implanted on my devices by intelligence authorities in the United Arab Emirates.”

NSO Group has repeatedly rejected the claims that its software had been used in the case. The UAE has also denied any wrongdoing.

Previously it has said: “As NSO has previously stated, our technology was not associated in any way with the heinous murder of Jamal Khashoggi or any of his family members, including Hanan El-Atr. Publishing these false statements is defamatory and won’t change the reality.”

There was no immediate response from the NSO Group, or from the Saudi Embassy in Washington DC. Ms Haines’s office also did not immediately respond to a question. The Turkey’s Embassy in Washington DC did not answer a question about Khashoggi’s phones.

In his campaign for the presidency, Mr Biden denounced Saudi Arabia and said it should be made a “pariah nation”.

As it was, no major sanctions were imposed on Riyadh, and the military and strategic relationship has been rebuilt.

In July, Mr Biden was criticised for going ahead with a meeting with MBS and other top Saudi officials. Mr Biden fist bumped the crown prince as he arrived for talks aimed at repairing their relationship.

In her letter, Ms El-Atr Khashoggi says: “I want all parties to be held accountable for my husband’s death, including the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the NSO Group. I sincerely hope you might be able to assist me.”