RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has admitted a role in the disappearance and murder of a Washington Post journalist and Saudi-Citizen, Jamal Khashoggi, at a Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018; and
WHEREAS, fifteen Saudi agents were waiting for Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate the moment he arrived, at about 1:15 p.m. on October 2, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Khashoggi was going to the Saudi consulate to collect documents for his upcoming wedding; and
WHEREAS, senior Turkish officials have described an audio recording corroborating that Khahoggi's killers severed his fingers and later dismembered and beheaded him while he was still conscious; and
WHEREAS, Turkish officials have also shared with the New York Times that Saudi consul, Mohammad al-Otaibi, is purported to have told the killers, "Do this outside. You will put me in trouble;" and,
WHEREAS, one of the men is said to have replied "Shut up, if you want to live when you return to Saudi Arabia;" and
WHEREAS, al-Otaibi has since been dismissed from his post and recalled to Saudi Arabia; and
WHEREAS, video footage confirms several large diplomatic boxes left the consulate approximately two hours after Khashoggi arrived; and
WHEREAS, Saudi Arabia has not been able to provide footage from the consulate showing that Khashoggi ever left; and
WHEREAS, in response to the consul's involvement, United States Senator Richard J. Durbin has called on the President to expel the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States, Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz; and
WHEREAS, Senator Durbin has stated that "[ujnless the Saudi Kingdom understands that civilized countries around the world are going to reject this conduct and make sure that they pay a price for it, they are going to continue to do it;" and
WHEREAS, other countries have already taken comparable action, including Germany which froze all arms deals with Saudi Arabia until the Khashoggi affair is resolved; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago has been similarly outraged by the circumstances surrounding Khashoggi disappearance; NOW, THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
This City Council hereby expresses its support for United States Senator Richard J. Durbin in his call for the expulsion of the Ambassador from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States, Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, until such time as the disappearance and murder of Jamal Khashoggi have been adequately investigated by a credible third party; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to United States Senator Richard J. Durbin of the State of Illinois.
Edwam-M. Burke Alderman, 14th Ward