EXCLUSIVE: Widow of Murdered Washington Post Reporter Jamal Khashoggi Slams Amazon Titan Jeff Bezos for Striking Ghoulish Business Deal with Husband's 'Killer'
Bezos was criticized for going into business with Prince Mohammed.
May 23 2025, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
The widow of a Washington Post columnist who was killed in Saudi Arabia has exclusively told RadarOnline.com she was shocked to learn Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has just entered into a tech deal with the nation's ruler, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Hanan Elatr said Bezos, who owns the newspaper where her husband Jamal Khashoggi worked, has completely forgotten his promises of help made to her just to turn a profit.
Elatr's husband, Khashoggi, was murdered in Saudi Arabia.
Bezos and Amazon recently announced a $5 billion "strategic partnership" with a Saudi artificial intelligence initiative backed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The deal includes the creation of a so-called "A.I. Zone" in the Kingdom.
The deal comes just six years after Prince Mohammed took full responsibility for the violent murder and dismemberment of Khashoggi, who was in Istanbul to obtain a marriage license, while also denying he ordered the attack.
A transcript of Khashoggi’s dying moments was leaked to Turkish journalists. In it, members of the Saudi assassination squad referred to Khashoggi as a "sacrificial animal" and detailed plans to carve up his body.
The journalist was posthumously named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2018.
Crowds called for the captured journalists release.
At the time of his death, Bezos offered comfort to Khashoggi’s fiancée, showing up at a vigil for his fallen employee, and telling Elatr: "No one should ever have to endure what you did.
"It is unimaginable, and you need to know that you are in our hearts. We are here, and you are not alone."
But in the years since, Elatr told RadarOnline.com alone is exactly what Bezos has left her.
The Saudi ruler recently welcomed Donald Trump to his country.
"Jamal has been forgotten by Mr. Bezos," she slammed over the phone, adding he and Prince Mohammed have destroyed her life.
"They made me suffer. I have no hope for a life. I wish to die like my husband," she exclaimed through tears.
Elatr said she wants both parties to know about the physical and financial hardship she has been forced to endure: "I deserve to receive an official apology from the Saudi authority if they are sincere about this crime, and I deserve compensation."
Ironically, Elatr said she was happy Saudi Arabia would be getting the technology under the deal to evolve into a global A.I. leader, saying it was something she and Khashoggi dreamed of for his homeland.
The price, however, was too high.
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Elatr said Bezos has forgotten about her and her husband.
Elatr said she has written and tried to contact Bezos, but has heard nothing back from the billionaire. She wants him to know that she feels abandoned after he pledged to honor Khashoggi's legacy.
"This is not fair. They chose to kill my husband, take the man I loved, the man who is part of my soul," she cried, telling Bezos: "You left one victim here, and that is me."
The mother-of-four revealed she is living in squalor and is desperate for a lifeline. She warned Bezos ignoring her now sends his fellow journalists and employees a bad message.
"There is something more here to be done. I deserve an official apology and a compensation," Elatr said. "But neglecting me will never show the world you are sensitive with your regret of this crime."
