On 2nd October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist in exile in Turkey entered the Saudi consulate in order to obtain certificates that would allow him to marry his fiancée Hatice Cengiz. He was never seen again. 

Bryan Fogel’s documentary about Khashoggi’s state sponsored assassination is framed to some extent like a thriller. The details within it about the brutality of his murder, the human rights abuses by Saudi Arabia and the complete absence of any global response to them are more frightening than any fictional story you could ever see. 

Fogel’s key to telling such a compelling story is the access that he has obtained. The Turkish government provided him with all information provided to other governments, he has full access to Hatice as she navigates through her grief and most important for this particular story he has direct access to another Saudi dissident in exile, Omar Abdulaziz. Omar was a close friend of Khashoggi’s and is a video blogger critical of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His stories about how Saudi Arabia manipulate social media and hack phones using state of the art software are incredible and left me dumbfounded. 

The fact that to this day there has been no international reaction sends a worrying message to those who value freedom for all. 

A must watch documentary.