UAE detains Jamal Khashoggi’s assistant Asim Ghafoor

since the United States Attorney Asim Ghafoor was arrested in July while trying to transfer planes in the United Arab Emirates, and his supporters in Washington, D.C., have been speculating about the reason.

UAE authorities detained Ghafoor on money laundering and tax evasion charges while he was on a connecting flight and told him he was also being tried in secret, convicted and sentenced in absentia. Due to the opaque legal system in the UAE, many observers suspect that his arrest was motivated by ulterior motives. One theory stands out – it has to do with the UAE’s close alliance with Saudi Arabia.

Ghafoor was linked to murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, whose brutal killing embarrassed the Saudi crown prince and damaged his relationship with the United States, coupled with a shared UAE and Saudi Arabia’s revenge against critics History – which is the most notorious case in the West, and thus far from Khashoggi himself – now suspects that this is what happened to Ghafoor.

Ghafoor and Khashoggi’s relationship has been widely described as both personal and professional.Newspaper editorials, members of Congress, a statement from Washington, D.C. advocacy organization Ghafoor was co-founded with Khashoggi, and Ghafoor’s own lawyers refer to Ghafoor as Khashoggi’s lawyer. “He has previously represented Khashoggi as well as his fiancee Hatice Cengiz,” The Associated Press report Cavour.

At least one source has questioned the relationship between the two men: Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr.

There is no dispute that there is a close connection between the two. Ghafoor helped Saudi exiles find the group Democracy in the Arab world today, or DAWN, the Washington-based foreign policy advocacy group issued a statement on the case. However, Elatr strongly denies the claim that Ghafoor is directly acting as Khashoggi’s lawyer.

“I wish Mr. Ghafoor all the best, but he is not my husband’s lawyer,” Elatr told The Intercept in an interview. “My husband doesn’t have any legal issues that require a lawyer.” Elatr himself was detained twice in the UAE, including once after Khashoggi’s death. Critical The attempt she described to politicize his legacy.

However, others close to Ghafoor, including his US attorney Faisal Gill, said the question of the exact legal relationship between the two was a “diversion” because Ghafoor was known to have been advising Khashoggi. Their relationship as co-founders of DAWN. DAWN, where Ghafoor continues to serve on the board, has frequently criticized Saudi Arabia and the UAE for arms sales and human rights abuses.

“At the end of the day, Asim was one of the founders of DAWN, along with Jamal Khashoggi,” Gill said. “Asim talked to him a lot and advised him on different things and he was also fully involved in the lawsuit brought over Jamal’s killing. Asim signed the contract to create DAWN and Jamal Khashoggi also signed the contract, which got him killed. He was involved in it from the start.”

Ghafoor has also been part of DAWN’s legal team since Khashoggi’s murder, in its lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is believed to have ordered Khashoggi’s killing. Gill himself is an attorney in the case, which is still ongoing.

A statement filed in federal court last year by Ghafoor as part of the lawsuit against the Saudi crown prince described Ghafoor as a board member who was involved in DAWN’s original formation, saying he also “negotiated an agreement with Jamal Khashoggi to serve him in May 2018.” As executive director of DAWN. Khashoggi’s murder had a chilling effect on the organization, the statement said. “Mr. Khashoggi’s murder created a severe budget shortfall for DAWN as donors reneged on their commitments to provide financial support to DAWN due to fears of retaliation by the defendants in this case,” the statement said.

Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancé at the time of the killing, also pointed to ties to DAWN and Ghafoor’s role in his lawsuit over Khashoggi’s death. “Asim was a friend of Jamal Khashoggi and, as a lawyer, he helped found ‘Democracy Now in the Arab World’ (‘DAWN’),” Cengiz wrote in an article statement After Gafoor was arrested. “I am filing a civil lawsuit against Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his co-conspirators in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The trial will begin soon. Asim Ghafoor is part of DAWN’s legal team in this lawsuit. I Fear that the UAE will imprison Asim to intimidate the legal team and myself, as well as anyone calling for democracy in the Middle East.” (Cengiz did not respond to a request for comment.)

Ghafoor’s legal case in the UAE was also Caused panic among many American politicians As a clear violation of basic fairness and transparency. He was arrested at Dubai International Airport on July 14 while on his way to a family wedding in Istanbul. Ghafoor passed through Dubai on a transit flight earlier this year without incident, but was approached and detained this time by two plainclothes security officers.

After his arrest, Gafoor was told he had Trial, conviction and sentence 3 years in prison, $816,748 fine, deportation after serving. He neither had the opportunity to defend himself nor knew in advance of the charges against him.

Ghafoor was refused bail at a court hearing on Monday, his first appearance since being quarantined in hospital after contracting Covid-19 in custody in the UAE. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for August 9.

Born in Missouri Ghafoor grew up in Texas and has been a well-known attorney in Washington, D.C. for many years. He has handled several high-profile national security and terrorism cases in the post-9/11 era and has strong political ties between Democrats and Republicans.

In 2014, Ghafoor was theme After a story in The Intercept was revealed, he, along with several other prominent Muslim American activists, academics and lawyers, was targeted by the NSA’s espionage program. Ghafoor was awarded $20,000 in damages after government surveillance was revealed in a previous case, although the verdict was overturned on appeal.

His sudden arrest came on the same day that President Joe Biden met with Saudi leaders in the region, raising questions about the possible role, if any, role of the U.S. government in detaining him.

UAE authorities originally claimed Ghafoor’s arrest was coordinated with U.S. authorities as part of efforts to stop “transnational crime”. State Department spokesman Ned Price appeared to dispute that at a news conference last week, saying the U.S. “did not seek the arrest of Mr. Gafoor” when it posed questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment on the case.

Price warned that the United States was still gathering information, but added that the U.S. government had no reason to believe Gafoor’s detention was related to his work with Khashoggi.

Still, the lack of transparency of his charges and convictions in the UAE has raised widespread suspicions that Ghafoor was indeed targeted for political reasons.then transnational repression The growing detentions have also raised concerns about the U.S. government’s willingness to ensure due process is provided for a citizen of its own who has been detained by authoritarian allies such as the UAE.

“It makes no sense that a US citizen accused of tax evasion would be charged and tried by local authorities in the United Arab Emirates – something like this seems likely to be handled by the IRS and not the UAE,” Salam Malaya Said Ti, chairman and co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “We demand transparency and explanation from the US government on this issue. Unless more information is provided, we must characterize him as a political prisoner.”